See You in Washington
by twentytwopointeightmiles
Summary: Jess sets out to visit Rory in Washington after the kiss at Sookie's wedding. Dean's out of the picture, there's no Shane. They're free to do what they want. Read and see if you like. LiT!...is there any other way? WARNING: CURRENTLY ABANDONED FIC.
1. On the Way to Rory

**I'll see you in Washington**

**A/N-This is all totally from my mind. It's my first fic so if it sucks-sorry. I know at some points it corny and if you totally hate it, please inform me. My only way to know if I should stop writing this instead of continuing is if you-what's that word ladies and gentlemen?-REVIEW! I don't really know what else to say so on with the show-or story. Oh, and yes-I do know that this chapter is tiny. I'm sorry, ok.**

**Chapter 1**

He lay in bed, trying desperately to fall asleep, but her voice kept swirling around in his head. _Goodnight Dodger…Why are you only nice to me...Turn right…Because you never said goodbye._ These moments that he had tried to forget were too impossible to just let go of and she made sure to remind him of this. Her lips, her face, her innocent blue eyes, her glistening brown hair, everything about her was perfect, and nothing that he deserved. Yet she had kissed him. _She _had kissed _him._ Not the other way around. It was all her, all her decision. This meant she felt something for him. It meant she might feel a small sliver of something for him out of the huge love, want, and need he felt for her. But now she was in Washington, miles away. She had left to escape him, he knew it. That made him crazy. He needed to see her, hear her voice, look at her face. He sighed and pulled the pillow over his head, hoping it could absorb all his thoughts and he could for once, sleep peacefully.

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She looked out the window at the sleeping city of Washington. All she could see was his face. Last night Paris had wanted to get ice cream and Rory had nearly cried when she saw the cones, all lined up, in the clear box above all the ice cream. His words flashed through her mind when Paris got her ice cream in a cup. _"I need cones." _He had said. This went on to replay their conversation in the car that night. _"Admit it; it's always better in a cone." "It's always better in a cone."_ She had said with ease._ "Putting ice cream in a dish, eating it with a spoon?" _She finished his thought by saying, _"What is wrong with people?"_

Their conversations always went on like this, giddy, innocent, and comfortable. This was ridiculous…she was sitting here, fawning over a boy who wasn't even her boyfriend. The thing is, she had thought a whole lot more about Jess than she had of Dean while she was here. In fact, the only times she had thought of Dean is when he called her and even then, she was only half listening. Rory looked at her bedside table and saw Howl sitting on top of it. Why had she packed that? She'd had an impulse to throw it into her bag so she did; now she regretted bringing it every time she looked at the cover. Her eyes drifted back to the window and she looked up the stars, wondering if he was watching the same night sky right now.

He stared up at the stars, sleep was hopeless. He wondered if she was watching the same night sky right now.

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He was just wiping down the counter at Luke's when Lorelai walked in, for the 3rd time that day. Rory being gone was really hitting her hard. This wasn't so different for him either.

"Coffee?" he asked, but it was more like an assumption.

"Do you even have to ask?" she said, sitting down at the counter and examining her nails. "Where's Luke?" she questioned. Sookie was on her honeymoon, Rory was gone, and she wasn't going to start a conversation with Jess anytime soon, so the only person left was Luke.

"I'm here." Luke called, emerging from behind the curtain that led to his apartment.

"Tell me a joke, I'm bored." Lorelai instructed

"No." Luke deadpanned.

"Ha, that was a good one." Lorelai said.

"Yes, I have great talents in the joking department; people get a rise outta my 'no way in hell' joke too."

"Hmm..." Lorelai said absentmindedly. "Hey, Luke?"

"No" Luke said.

"You don't even know what I'm going to ask." Lorelai whined.

"Whatever you want, the answer is no, I'm busy." He said

"But…"

"Nope."

"Fine." Lorelai said in a huff. "I'll just go to Al's. I bet he'll tell me a joke."

"Fine by me." Luke said and went back to work, watching Lorelai stomp out. Jess rolled his eyes at his blind, clueless uncle who had no idea him and Lorelai were so in over the head with infatuation for each other.

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Jess didn't plan things out much; he was more of an impulsive kind of person. This was how he found himself telling Luke that one of his best friends back in New York City was graduating and that he was going to go to the graduation. Luke, clueless as he was, told Jess to tell him when he was expected back once he got to New York and sent him off with a simple, 'stay safe.' Luke was obviously impressed that Jess had a friend from New York who might be doing something with his life. Now Jess was free for around a week, and he knew exactly where he was going to go.

Jess picked up his small, canvas duffel bag and began the walk to the bus station. Once he got there he searched the maps for the quickest route to Washington D.C. He realized he would have to stop and switch busses in New York. _Great, _he thought. He hated switching busses, but it would take him to Rory. He stepped onto the bus that headed to New York and he pulled out his latest Hemingway read, _The Killers._ The words were blurry and unfocused and her face kept pushing its way into his mind. Her feathery touch, her soft lips, her light laugh. "Last stop, New York." The bus driver announced after about 45 minutes. Jess threw his book into his bag and stepped off the bus. He took a deep breath and breathed in the familiar scent of the city. He then stepped into a bus labeled 47. This big, stuffy bus was going to take him to beautiful, delicate, perfect Rory.

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"Dean?"

"Hey Rory!" Dean said, lighting up at her voice.

"Look, um, Dean…can we talk?"

"Sure…what's up?" he asked completely oblivious as to what was about to hit him.

"Um, I…you…we…Dean, I'm sorry." She stumbled; this was harder than she thought it would be.

"Why?" he asked, his voice no longer alight and giddy but now confused.

"Because…I think it's time for me to hang up now…for good."

_Click…_

Rory didn't know why she'd done it. She'd been feeling this feeling for a while now, like the relationship had gone on too long. This was just closure. Strangely, Rory felt almost free. Paris was off at some night tour of D.C. of which Rory had chosen not to go on, so now she had the whole night to herself, or so she thought.

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The bus pulled up with a screech and Jess walked out off. He had no clue what to do now. Where would he find Rory? He walked out of the bus station and saw a booth the read, INFORMATION HERE. He walked up and said to the lady, "Hey, do you know where the, um Chilton school group is staying?"

"As a matter of fact, I do honey." Replied the women in big khaki shorts and graying hair. _She better not call me honey again,_ he thought.

There was a long silence and he finally said gruffly, "Well, you gonna tell me where?"

"Oh, well you should have said you wanted to know before, honey." The lady said ignorantly. Jess rolled his eyes and stared at her impatiently. "It's on 52 Lincoln Street. That's only a block from here. Just keep walking that way and the make a left."

"Thanks." He muttered and walked off, having not listened to a word she'd said he grabbed a map from a seemingly empty stand on the way. Lincoln Street, Lincoln Street…there it was. He noticed it was about a two minute walk from where he was so he quickly ditched the map and made his way to 52 Lincoln Street. He entered the tall building to a blast of refreshing air conditioning. There was a bored-looking girl at the desk. "Do you know what room Rory Gilmore is staying in?" he asked, leaning against the cool stone that covered the desk. "Hold on a minute please." She said and typed something into the computer. He was in the same building as Rory, somewhere, she was standing high above him, probably reading, she probably had no idea that she was about to see him, Jess Mariano, town hoodlum, rebel without a cause, the guy that everyone from Rory's perfect fairy tale life, hates. "Room 63, 2nd floor." The girl said, interrupting his thoughts. Jess walked over to the elevator and pressed the up button. He hoped he was ready for this.

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Rory was deeply engrossed in _We the Living_, one of her favorite Ayn Rand's, when she heard a knock on the door. She wondered who it was, considering she wasn't expecting anyone and Paris had a key, so it couldn't be her. Rory flopped off the couch, put her book down and took a quick once-over of herself. Gray sweats, and a long sleeved tee…not exactly formal dress but suitable for whoever was at the door. She walked over and turned the handle, filling the cool metal on her skin. The image that stood in front of her took her by such surprise she had to blink and make sure he was really there.

"Jess." She breathed.

**So there you go-your first chapter. If your eyes are bleeding and you want to rip this story to shreds via reviewing, please do. If you're having a cow cuz you're just so in love with this story-review! Oh, and I have more of this story ready to be posted, I'm just waiting to see if it's worth it.**

**X0x0x-Chloe**


	2. So Close

**I'll see you in Washington**

**_Disclaimer_-Oh yeah, so I'm really Amy Sherman Palladino and when I'm not writing Gilmore Girls-because David Rosenthal has been killed by me-and not basking in my sheer brilliance I like to come onto this little website and make up stories about Gilmore Girls instead of actually making them the actual plotline. Oh, yeah, and I'm queen of the world. **

**A/N- Hey, so this chapter is a lot longer than the last one. Thank you so much to Just A Girl Of The Hollow x3** **for my first review ever, That was really cool. And thanks to gilmorejunkie1230 for the suggestions and review and thanks allycat1186** **and Literati and naley forever. Reviews are the love of my life! ****My only way to know if I should stop writing this instead of continuing is if you-what's that word ladies and gentlemen?-REVIEW! I don't really know what else to say so on with the show-or story. **

**Chapter 2**

"Jess." She breathed

"Rory." He replied.

"What are you doing….how did you…why are you….when'd you??" Rory stuttered. "Why are you here?" She asked finally, completely baffled and sounding almost accusing. _That came out way harsher than it should have._ She thought, feeling bad.

Jess, suddenly panicked and without answers said, "You know what, I shouldn't have come. I knew this was a bad idea, I just kept going. Sorry, I'll…" He turned around and started to walk away when Rory called out, her brain kicking.

"Wait, Jess, don't go, come…come in." She didn't know why he was here but she knew that she didn't want him to go so soon.

He turned around and unsurely walked back to her open door. She looked beautiful. He loved her looking so laid back. She had on a simple pair of sweats and a t-shirt, her feet bare and her hair up in a ponytail that had been done halfheartedly. Her eyes shined but were cast over with a shadow of confusion.

"Why…Why did you come here?" she asked.

"I, um, I wanted-no, needed-to see you."

"Oh…" She said, not sure how to reply, though fact of the matter is, she had never been happier to see him. She couldn't stand the thought of going six weeks without looking at his face or listening to him talk.

"Well, come in." she said, gesturing into her room. She stepped aside and he loped in, taking in the small, dorm-like room she was staying in. The two stood awkwardly, Rory absorbing the new situation while Jess tried to figure out why the hell he'd come here. He could've of, should've waited until she came back. Now he looked like a desperate lover-boy following a girl across the country just to see her face. This was so not him.

"Hey, there's not much to do in here, how about we go get some ice cream-in cones." She said, a small smile playing at her face as she emphasized the last part. He looked over and saw her lit up eyes and the tiny grin she wore and he suddenly knew exactly why he came here. She was why, and she was worth it. Rory quickly slid into some flip flops, pulled on a sweater and stepped out of her room.

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What was he doing here? Why would anyone travel across the country to come see her? The answer to that went straight over her head. He looked good, really good. He had on his navy blue, button down USA shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a pair of khaki colored, baggy pants. His shirt was tucked into his belt in the front and she wanted nothing more than to run her hands through his hair and stare into those deep, chocolate eyes forever…but she couldn't. She just couldn't. It was too early to do anything other than talk, they really needed to talk. She had seen the small, almost unnoticeable smile on his lips when she had suggested the ice cream cones. She had pleased him and that made her happy. She wanted to see him smile more. She wanted to see him more, period.

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"There's an ice cream store just down the block so we can walk." Rory said as they stepped out of the elevator.

"Sounds good to me." Jess replied, studying her and trying to read her emotions, to no avail.

"How did you get here?" Rory asked, leading the way out the door and turning to her left.

"I can safely say all band roadies are as crazy as everyone thinks they are. Traveling all year long on a bus? They're insane." Jess said.

"You came here by bus?" Rory concluded.

"Yeah, and I got on the wrong one so I had took a detour to god-knows-where on the way. I would've gotten here 3 hours earlier if those stupid signs at the bus stations were actually readable." He said bitterly

"Oh, you poor thing." She said with mock sympathy.

The two walked in silence the rest of the way. When they reached the ice cream shop Rory immediately asked for vanilla in a plain wafer cone.

"Could you get any more boring?" Jess asked, smirking.

"Huh?" Rory asked, confused by his comment.

"You didn't even stop to look at the flavors, you just went right on to order the most common ice cream on the planet."

"So I've got a plan, do you have a problem?" She asked, challenging him.

"Nope, not at all." Jess said, feigning innocence. "See, but I look at every one of the flavors, trying something new each time, I like to be different."

"Fine, then go be a circus clown but I'm perfectly happy with my vanilla." Rory said as her cone was handed to her. Jess shook his head and said, "Can I please have the bubblemint twist with a scoop of caramel mocha, and make sure it's in the biggest, craziest cone you've got." He then turned to Rory, smirked, and said, "Now that's ice cream."

The two walked out into the cool air. The sky was fading into dusk and the breeze was picking up. They didn't say anything for a few minutes until Jess interrupted the silence.

"So, are we just going to avoid the subject awkwardly or put it out in the open?" He asked. They both knew exactly what he was talking about.

"We kissed." Rory stated, not skipping a beat.

"Guess we're going for out in the open." Jess muttered, a hidden smirk in his words. He was surprised by her statement and had not expected her to be this comfortable with the subject. He had imagined her to flush a light crimson and stammer before finally saying something that was only said to fill the silence, not confront the issue immediately.

"Jess." She said in that, this is serious so quite joking tone her hers.

"Ok, we kissed." He said slowly. "The thing is, did it mean anything?" He muttered.

"Well, obviously it meant something because I broke up with Dean and I don't even know why so it probably has something to do with, well, the kiss, and you're here, for no apparent reason, which is something you'd never do unless something important happened and…" She realized she was making a fool of herself and she ended it with an awkward, "So, yeah…" She blushed at herself for rambling and watched him, waiting for him to say something, anything. If her previous statement hadn't caught Jess' attention, this one sure did.

"You broke up with Dean?" Jess asked, slowly and deliberately.

Rory sighed and said, "Yes. I broke up with Dean, alright? It was on the phone, just before you got here. It was the right thing to do."

"Ok." Jess said, noncommittally.

"Well?" Rory asked, looking at him expectantly.

"Well what?" He said, confused.

"Do you think it meant anything?" She asked in a 'duh' tone.

They were at the door of the hotel-like dorm place Rory was staying in and the two stopped walking, their ice cream long thrown away.

"Yes." Jess whispered. Rory's breath caught at his answer as he slowly reached out for her hands. When they met she felt an overwhelming warmth spread throughout her body. They leaned in towards each other, Jess's hand making its way towards her neck. Rory's pulse was racing as she anticipated what was coming next. Her heart beat a hundred times per minute and when his hand reached the back of her neck she felt her knees give out and she slipped from his grip but the wall behind her back steadied her balance. Rory could feel his breath on her lips and she slightly parted her mouth. Their lips were just a centimeter away when Rory saw Paris emerging behind Jess. "Rory!" she called excitedly. _Of all the times for Paris to actually be in a good mood and looking almost happy, she had to choose now. _Rory thought. Jess groaned, and pulled away, still feeling her touch on him. His thoughts were clouded over with her face, her feel, her everything. He was intoxicated with want, all caused by her and slowly came back to focus. She had no idea what kind of effect she had on him. "Remind me to kill whoever that is later on." He muttered, thinking aloud.

"I'll help." Rory mumbled back, finally dropping his hand.

"Rory, you remember Jamie right? Well, he asked me to dinner tomorrow! Can you believe it? Me being asked to dinner by Jamie!" Paris cried. _She's lucky she's so far away or I might strangle her, right here, right now._ Rory thought to herself.

"Wow, great Paris, I'm really happy for you." Rory said through clenched teeth.

"See you." Jess said, walking off.

"Wait, where are you staying?" Rory called after him.

"I'll find somewhere." He said, turning to her.

"I'm in room 63." Rory said, even though she didn't quite know why.

"I know." He called back before disappearing through the doors into the large building. He had been so close, so close to her, but of course, they'd never belong together. The interruption by the infamous Paris had been a warning to back off, and soon. Of course, Jess never followed the rules before. Why should he start now? He walked up to the front desk of the place Rory was staying at and saw the same, bored girl as before sitting there. "Do you have an available room anywhere close to room 63?" he asked, looking out the window as Rory turned to Paris, her shoulders slumped, looking downward. So she had wanted it too, he thought. She had wanted to kiss him. That was definitely a good sign. "Room 64." The girl said, handing him a key. "Thanks." he muttered and walked towards the elevator, but not before taking one last look at Rory.

"Who was that?" Paris asked, walking up to Rory.

"That was my, um, that…that was Jess." She said, sighing and walking inside.

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She wondered if he had any idea how much she wanted to be with him. She wondered if he could possibly imagine what his touch did to her, or the warmth she felt when he smiled. She remembered her mother's words, that she should wallow after a breakup, but she didn't want to wallow. She wanted to be with Jess, now. Rory rolled over in bed and sighed. Paris was dead asleep, muttering about some court case where she had been wrongfully accused of raping a raccoon. Rory slipped out of her covers and walked to the door that led out, onto the tiny balcony every room had. She slid the door open and stepped outside. The cool night air was soothing and she leaned over the railing, looking down at the silent street below her. She heard a small noise that startled her and she jumped, whipping her head around the where noise came from. She saw the familiar smoky, charcoaled eyes. She heard a familiar chuckle and slowly said, "Jess?"

"Some coincidence huh?" he said softly.

"You're staying there?" she asked, disbelieving.

"Looks that way." He remarked.

"Huh." She answered, momentarily stealing his line. She had a hunch that it was more than mere coincidence that Jess' room was directly across from hers. Rory nodded and silently slipped off the balcony. Jess knew exactly where she was going.

She held the door so it shut quietly and waited for him to meet him out in the hall. She gazed up and down at the doors lit by fluorescent lights and wondered if he'd actually known where she'd gone and what she meant by her silent nod. She suddenly felt hands slip around her waist and let out a scream, which was muffled by another strong hand. She turned around, her heart beating overtime, feeling like she was going to collapse. He snickered and she let out a huge breath when she saw that it was him.

"I hate you" she whisper yelled through her teeth as she stared at his amused expression. "Wipe that smile off your face young man." She ordered.

"Yes Sir!" he answered, saluting Rory. She giggled and walked towards the elevator. She then remembered the building's rules.

"This place is kind of like a hostel and it doesn't let anyone in, or out between midnight and 5 in the morning. Don't ask me why, 'cause I have absolutely no clue." Rory explained

"So we're stuck on this floor for the next 4 and a half hours, you're saying?" Jess asked.

"Yep." She replied.

"Okay, well, then…"

"Crap!" Rory cried, interrupting him.

"What?" he asked, intrigued by her sudden outburst.

"I forgot my key…" she whined.

"Oh." Jess said. He had no idea what to do now and said what came to mind first. "Well, you wanna come hang out on my balcony?" he asked tentatively. He knew he was treading on quicksand, and once you start sinking, you can never get out.

"Oooo-kay." Rory said slowly, wondering if she should've said that or not. This wasn't something she was used to, going into a boy's room alone. Jess opened his door and led her in. His room was an exact replica of Rory's without Paris sleeping in one of the beds. They walked out to the balcony, unsure of what to do.

"So about before…." Jess said slowly.

"About before…" Rory repeated.

"Do we want to talk about it?" He asked, unsurely.

"I think it'd be easier not." Rory replied simply, dismissing the subject. She was staring out into oblivion, obviously distracted by something. Jess turned his head to see what she was focused on and he saw a small, folded up escape ladder. It was the kind that you throw over an edge; clasp on and then climb down it to escape a fire.

"Oh, no." Jess said quickly, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

"We were planning on going downstairs to go outside, weren't we? Now we'll just be going down a ladder to get outside. I honestly don't see much of a difference." Rory said innocently.

"No way am I climbing down an unsteady, dangerous ladder meant for life or death emergencies so if you die on the ladder it hardly matters. Now this, not a life or death emergency. I die on that ladder and there's no one to say, 'well, he would've died in the fire up in the building anyway.' This would just be, 'he was an idiot for going down the unsteady ladder, so he deserved to die.' So no, I am not going down that ladder." Jess said, looking like he thought he had just made perfect sense. Rory held back the urge to burst into a fit of giggles at his impractical reasoning as to why he wouldn't just go down the ladder.

"Fine." She said defiantly and swung the ladder over the edge of the balcony. She heard a small rustling below and she knew it had reached the ground. Rory slid out of her fuzzy pink slippers, clipped the ladder to the balcony edge and gracefully swung over without a second thought.

"Rory!" Jess called. "You're not honestly going down there!"

"Oh, yes I am, and you're coming with me!" He heard her voice call from below. Jess knew Rory wasn't safe down there, alone late in the night, and he knew if he didn't go down with her and she could mugged or kidnapped, it would be solely blamed on him. So, with a sigh, Jess momentarily gave up stubbornness and swung over the balcony with surprising agility. The climb down was short and he painlessly reached the ground. Jess searched the dark for her piercing blue eyes. They were nowhere; Jess turned and looked to his other side, no sight of Rory. Now he was beginning to panic. She could be lost, or raped, or being hacked to death by an axe murderer…

"Your turn." He heard someone whisper in his ear. Jess jumped up, his breath catching as he held back a yell. He whipped his head around, _I think I found her_, he thought to himself.

"Jesus Christ Rory! You scared the crap out of me!" He yelled.

"That being the point." Rory giggled. It was the laugh that he had missed so much, the laugh he loved, her laugh. He watched her quickly run off into the dark. He ambled ahead following her at a slower pace.

"Come on, slowpoke!" she called from ahead, laughing. He followed her voice to see her standing next to a large, gushing fountain. She was rolling her pants up to her knees and lifting her toes into the air.

"What are you doing?" Jess asked, approaching the fountain.

"Dancin' in the water." Rory said in a sing-song voice as she stepped into the cold, crystal water. She was exhilarated and felt a rush of energy. She began to twirl about, splashing in the spray. He watched her spin, hypnotized by the sight. She was delirious in the cold splashes and the rush of energy that was surging through her, but she knew he was watching her. She stopped abruptly, staring him down, or at least trying to. She was so dizzy that all she could see were circles, spinning around and around. She stumbled and crashed to the ground, creating a small typhoon around her that lapped over the edges of the fountain. He tried desperately to hold in his laughter until she stood up, sopping wet, still drunkenly stumbling, and muttering to herself. It was all too hard and when she came to focus she saw his eyes dancing with laughter and a huge, wobbling smirk on his face.

"Shut up." She ordered and stepped out of the pool of water.

"I said nothing." He answered, standing up but still with a smirk.

"Well don't." She said again.

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It was amazing how something so simple and innocent could make her eyes light up like they did. All you needed to satisfy Rory Gilmore was the night air and the light of the moon. This bewildered Jess; she seemed so childish, running in the nighttime, twirling round and round. She was like a dream, and he sat down to watch her hypnotizing image, turning round and round. Finally she stopped and began walking forward, stumbling in her dizziness, but keeping her direction firm as if she knew where she was going. She ran across empty streets, lit by the buzzing of the dim streetlamps. She went through bare alleyways, and behind tall buildings. Finally, she stopped at what looked like the tallest building. There was a long fire ladder that started just a foot above Rory's head and led straight to the roof. Suddenly, she summoned a huge amount of courage and dove up, grabbing the bottom handle of the ladder. She then proceeded to climb up, and up and up.

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Jess looked around to find Rory nowhere, he heard a sudden _bang_ above him and he abruptly looked up to find Rory, hanging by one arm and swinging back and forth across a tall ladder. He heard her shriek and immediately climbed up the ladder as quickly as he could. He was up to where she is in less than five seconds. Through her terror she had a flitting thought that he was saving her, he was coming to her rescue, but the thought quickly passed. By now she had managed to catch her balance and had a firm grasp on the rungs of the ladder but her heart was racing and her breathing was ragged. "You okay?" he asked, worry pouring from his words.

"Y-Y-Yeah, I'm ok." She answered, taking a deep breath and regrouping herself. He stayed behind her the rest of the climb up until they reach the top.

"So tell me why we're up here?" Jess asked, looking around.

"I've always wanted to go on a roof, so what's a better time than the present? You were the one who came racing up after me." She explained, once again remembering the feeling she had for that one millisecond where she knew he was coming up there for her and only her.

"Well, excuse me for trying to save your life." He said defensively.

"You're excused." She replied, her eyes gleaming. Jess gave her a long look that more or less said_, you are ridiculous_. Rory giggled and looked around. It seemed as though others had had the same idea she'd come up with since there were three flat lawn chairs, pushed together in the center. Rory walked over to them and flopped down right in the center, staring up at the night sky. Jess watched her every move, every breath she took, everywhere her blue eyes flitted to, every small twitch she made. He took it all in as a whole, like a thousand puzzle pieces that when put together, created Rory Gilmore.

"Have you ever just stared up at the sky, looked at the stars, and thought." Rory asked quietly.

"Thought what?" Jess replied.

"Well, it's just, there's a whole universe around us, maybe even multiple universes and we never even think about it. We're all here in our own little worlds where every tiny problem we go through is a catastrophe and every minute's savored for us but I mean, do you ever just sit and think? There's so much more than just us and so much more going on out there." She finished, still staring at the stars the whole time.

"Rory, you're going all psychological on me. Is there something you'd like to tell me?" He asked keeping a straight and feigning concern in his eyes.

"Well, see I was thinking of becoming a psychologist, I hear it pays great but the hours-not so good." She answered playing along.

"And how do you feel about that." Jess asked, and he began to furiously scribble in an invisible notebook he held in his lap, looking up every two seconds, but keeping the straight face. Rory tried to think up a witty remark to quip his shrink routine but she was at a loss so she settled for a giggle and watched him walk over to where she was laying and flop down next to her. He bent his knees and spread his arms out. They sat in a comfortable silence like that for a few minutes until Jess interrupted.

"Yeah, sometimes I do think about it all. It's fascinating when you try to figure out what's really going on up there. It's so captivating, the thoughts take up your whole mind and it seems like they're trying to push it farther, expand your brain."

"Exactly…" Rory said, amazed at how he could practically read her thoughts.

She looked over at him and for once, allowed herself to stare. The moonlight cast an eerie shine over his face and it made his eyes look vivid and bright. Suddenly her hand took on a mind of its own and moved its way over to his. _What the hell am I doing?_ She asked herself but she couldn't seem to stop. His bare arms gleamed in the light and she couldn't take her eyes off his skin. He had on a pair of black and green flannel pajama pants with a checkered print and a white sleeveless wife-beater. His feet-like Rory's-were bare having long discarded his sopping socks, wet from the mud he'd trudged through. Her small hand lightly landed on his wrist and she felt him suddenly shiver. Her fingertips began to make their way up his arm, reaching his elbow and continuing to his shoulder. She felt his muscle tense under her touch and then relax as she moved on. She went up and down his arm taking in the feel of him. She felt his breath catch as she lightly fingered the crease that was on the opposite side of his elbow. His breathing from then on was erratic but this only made her want more. She kept her eyes on him, sensing for signs of discomfort. She saw none but finally drew her hand away. She could still feel the way the muscles in his biceps seemed to flex when she ran over them. She remembered the one moment when her pinky had grazed his neck and an avalanche of chills flowed through him and transferred over to her. She was in a daze and couldn't create a logical thought if she tried. The quicksand had sucked her in, and now there was no way of pulling herself out.

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What is she doing to me? Is she trying to kill me or is this just some torture procedure she likes to hold over me? Why'd did she do that? Why did she touch me like that? Whether she's trying to or not, she is very slowly killing me and my self control. She doesn't know so much. She doesn't know that I want to grab her and make her knees go weak, make her legs melt to jello, make her lose her breath and never catch it again, make her eyes go blind, make her brain fog over and never clear. She doesn't know how much I love her, how long I've waited, and what she does to me every time I see her. She doesn't know how much it hurt every time I saw her and Dean together. She doesn't even know that I came back to Stars Hollow for her. Everything I do is for her and she doesn't even know it. Funny.

AN: **Hey, so there's the 2nd chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Trust me, Rory and Jess will get together, this is a lit. It's going to take me a while to write the next chapter cuz this one was supposed to be three chapters and take me through a big amount of time but I made it into one so you might have to wait a little longer for another update. Of course, who can write a story without ReVeIwS???-Subtle enough for you?**

**X0x0x-Chloe**


	3. Houdini and Prostitutes

**I'll see you in Washington**

**_Disclaimer_-Oh yeah, so I'm really Amy Sherman Palladino and when I'm not writing Gilmore Girls-because David Rosenthal has been killed by me-and not basking in my sheer brilliance I like to come onto this little website and make up stories about Gilmore Girls instead of actually making them the actual plotline. Oh, yeah, and I'm queen of the world. **

**A/N- Hey, so this chapter was supposed to take way longer than it did but all your awesome reviews made me wanna write faster. Thank you so much to Just A Girl Of The Hollow x3, hollowgirl22, Literati and naley forever, xliteratiwhorex, literatigirl, Curley-Q, SquegeeBeckinhiem, allycat1186, and Milo.Ventimiglia.Lover. You guys all rock! (If you reviewed for my other chapter you'll be in the chapter 2 AN.) Reviews are the love of my life! My only way to know if I should stop writing instead of continuing is if you-what's that word ladies and gentlemen?-REVIEW! I don't really know what else to say so on with the show-or story. **

**Chapter 3**

Jess woke up to a blinding light the next morning. He rolled over and groaned, shutting his eyes as tightly as possible. _Where the hell am I?_ He asked himself. Suddenly memories began flooding back. He remembered Rory and climbing down the ladder, running through the streets. He remembered her hands on his skin, but he never remembered falling asleep. He sat up quickly and whipped his head around, squinting in the light. Rory was nowhere to be found. He slowly stood up and checked his watch. It read 5:43 and he groaned before walking over to the edge of the roof and looking down. There was no one in the alleyway below and he figured it was safe to climb down.

When he reached the bottom he gazed around trying to figure out which way he had come to get here. He had turned left and then gone straight and turned right. He followed his path until he reached the fountain where he had lost himself in Rory last night. He slowly allowed himself to take a moment and relive last night's events. Was it honestly possible that Rory felt something for him? He shook the feeling off and kept walking until he reach the small fire escape ladder that was still hung over his balcony. He climbed up quickly and then unhooked the ladder and folded it up in its original place. Rory's fluffy pink slippers still lay discarded on the floor. He smiled a small smile to himself and picked them up. He then walked into his room and looked around. His bed was unslept in and his bag was still packed. It looked untouched and he put down the shoes on the table beside his bed before flopping down and going straight to sleep.

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Rory had just been let out from a meeting with the Washington Representatives-or at least that's what she thought their name was-when her cell phone went off.

"Heh-llo?" Rory said.

"Faraway daughter of mine! How art thou? I can't tell you how great I've been without you here. I've really been getting it on! Just yesterday there was this massive party, and guess who threw it? Yours truly! It was shut down by the army generals-not pretty, but I escaped and now I'm in Vegas hanging with some other homies of mine who're running from the law also. This on the road, non-stop party, Almost Famous life isn't half bad." Lorelai announced giddily, ending with a flourish.

"So I hear." Rory answered; glad to hear her mother's voice. "So what was the reason for the army general shutdown?" She asked, wondering how far her mother could take this story.

"Oh, well, see-um the exact cause has not been proven." Lorelai stammered. _Apparently not so far._ Rory thought.

"Oh, right…well call me when you get it figured out."

"Will do." Lorelai replied. "So hon how's Washington?"

"Oh, it's um well, you know, Washingtonish." Rory responded. She had decided she shouldn't tell her mom about Jess since the reaction she got probably wouldn't be too enthusiastic.

"Oh yeah, definitely. I've heard many people describe Washington as Washingtonish. It's some great adjective that Washingtonish. I wouldn't be surprised if the next great American novel was named Washingtonish 'cause it's such a great word. You know…" "Enough!" Rory insisted. "Here, you want great adjectives? Washington is marvelous, stunning, spectacular, splendid, extravagant, phantasmagorical, grand, superb, dazzl…"

"Okay, jeez, I get it! So you're enjoying yourself I take it?" Lorelai asked

"Immensely." Rory replied, having decided to keep her answers short so her mother wouldn't push therefore forcing Rory to tell her about Jess.

"Oh, hon, Luke just got here-I gotta go."

"Luke's there huh? Something you wanna tell me mom?" Rory inquired.

"Ugh! Nothing like that! He's here to help me fix Ted."

"Ted's broken?" Rory questioned, now worried.

"Yup, two days ago. I've been deprived of home coffee ever since." Lorelai explained. "I think it's because I forgot to clean it four days in a row."

"Well, whatever you do, don't get a new coffee maker. Remember Lucy?"

"Oh yeah, Lucy was one devious coffee maker. Whoever thought machines could develop grudges?" Lorelai reminisced. "Kay, hon I gotta go but call me sometime soon pretty please?"

"Sure mom. I love you." She answered

"Bye sweetie-baby-cookie-honey" Her mother replied and Rory dropped her phone into her large brown purse. She then dug around in the bottom until she found what she was looking for, an old, used copy of _Howl._ She held onto it and made her way to the bench by their fountain where she loved to sit and read.

When she reached there, an interesting sight was played out before her. Jess was sitting and reading in the exact same spot she sat every day and read. "Freaky…" she muttered to herself before walking up to him from behind and saying, "Excuse me sir but I do think you've temporarily stolen my seat."

"Oh, is that so?" he asked, folding his book into his back pocket and focusing his attention on Rory. "Some Houdini act you pulled last night." He remarked.

"One, you mean this morning. And two, it was 5 am, I tried to wake you up but you sleep like the dead so I left. I didn't even leave quietly or sneakily or any other way that would be frowned upon, not exactly Houdini reference worthy."

"Fine, allow me to rephrase that. Some prostitute act you pulled last night." Jess retorted. Rory's mouth fell open.

"Nothing I did even vaguely resembled the acts of a prostitute! You better have an explanation for that remark buddy." Rory commanded.

"Prostitute sleeps with guy then slips out in the night, leaving him to never know what hit him." Jess explained.

"I did not sleep with you!" Rory exclaimed.

"Ah, but you did. You slept in my vicinity, therefore-you slept with me. Maybe not in the way people would normally think of 'sleeping together' but you still did it."

"Fine but please, for me, could you never phrase it like that again?" Rory pleaded.

"I suppose that can be arranged." Jess obliged.

Rory then felt a small pain in her stomach. "I'm starved." She remarked. "Can we go grab some pizza?"

"Fine by me."

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The two placed their orders and then sat down at a nearby table.

"I scoped out every place near here the day I arrived and have found the best coffee, the best pizza, best ice cream, best sandwiches, best Chinese, and best donut-pastry-bagel-Danish err, umm,,"

"Morning carb intake shop?" he prompted.

"Exactly." She replied. The two sat in silence before Rory interrupted it.

"So, interrogation time."

"Interrogation time?" He repeated, confused. "I'm here for two days and you're already going CSI Washington on me?"

"Well, I need to get some answers and I need them to be straightforward. The best way to do that is imply an interrogation." She replied simply.

"Fine."

"I get ten questions. You have to answer completely truthful." She said

"Hey, I can something out of this too!" He exclaimed.

"Then it's vice versa." She said.

"Fine." He said again.

"Ok, how long do you plan on staying here?"

"I have no idea."

"Oh, well that helps…" she muttered before moving onto the next question.

"Does anyone know you're here?"

"Nope. I told Luke I was going to New York for a friend's graduation. The guy'll believe anything."

"You can't stay here much longer. He'll get suspicious. Luke may be gullible but he's not stupid." She remarked. He couldn't help but notice that her face seemed to fall at this realization.

"Ok, back to the questions. Why did you really come here?" She asked, her eyes daring him to tell her the real answer. He thought long and hard about this one before coming up with the most honest answer he could.

"I have no answer for that."

She studied his deep brown eyes, searching them to figure him out. He had set up walls that were unbreakable. His face would never show his emotions. He wouldn't let anyone read him, not even Rory.

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They were walking down the busy street as the dusk began to fade and night started kicking in. This was her favorite time of day and she told him that.

"What's yours?" She asked.

"2 AM." He answered.

"You going to expand on that?"

"Nope." He said bluntly.

"Didn't think so."

They turned off onto the side street that led to their current residence. "So, what book are you reading?" she asked, to begin some sort of conversation.

"Oliver Twist." He responded. A small smile spread across her face as she said "Howl.", answering his question before he'd even asked it. They had now reached their building and were standing in almost the exact spot they'd almost kissed at the night before. He suddenly stopped and turned so that he was directly in front of her. She was shocked by how close he was. So close that she could feel his breath on her cheeks. She pretended it didn't bother her a bit though, as she stared into his eyes, refusing to look away.

"Funny." He whispered.

"What is?" She asked in equally hushed tones.

"That you, and I, always, seem to be thinking the same thing, at the same time." He answered haltingly before slowly moving in closer and closer to her. Their lips met all too so and every cell in her body jumped about 30 feet in the air. She crashed into the wall behind her for support and slipped her hands around his neck. The kiss was slow and passionate and his hands rested on her hips as he pulled away. Her body was melting. Her brain was turning to goo. She couldn't think or speak or even breathe. Slowly, she opened her eyes and he saw the expression in them. This look only made him want more and he leaned in again. Her hot breath was on his lips as he lingered for a moment before crashing down onto hers.

This kiss was stronger, he let out every emotion he'd felt for her. He let out the pain and anger, the long wait, the hurt, the passion, the love, the jealousy. She was blinded by white light, the flame that had been lit the moment he had touched her. He slowly licked her bottom, asking permission and she granted his wish, slowly opening her mouth. His tongue slipped ever so quickly and for a moment, she didn't know what had happened. Then, the heat of him slowly rising in her, she felt a small noise emanating in the back of her throat. She let out a soft, soulful moan that was muffled by his mouth, only heard by him and her. This noise egged him on and he slipped his hands under the back of her shirt in a deliberate manner. Her skin was smooth and soft, his hands were grateful for her warmth. His placed his fingers on the small of her back and pressed her closer to him, as close as possible. She was running her hands through the back of his unruly hair, her mouth having never stopped moving. Their teeth clinked together as she slid her tongue into his mouth, showing a huge amount of courage. For a moment time seemed to stop. Then, slowly, he began to come back to life. When had she learned to do this? He didn't want to think Dean. He wouldn't think Dean. She drew away for a moment to catch her breath before crashing back onto him with more ferocity, fighting, wanting, needed. She's sinking into him and he's sinking into her. It started out slow but now it's happening all too fast and they can't stop. Her mind flits back to the quicksand and she realizes that she's all the way gone. Her hands move to his neck, lightly running her fingertips across the small hairs. He's given into her innocent, childish seductiveness. He can't help it and moves his hips against hers, causing her to give a small jolt. Everything's disappearing. The world is floating away. She needs to catch her breath. She moans again as his tongue finds its way across her mouth. He needs he needs to stop but he can't.

Suddenly she rips off, untangling her hands from his hair and breathing heavily and erratically. She stared into his eyes as she caught her breath and stepped back. His expression looked lost and hungry. Hers was full of lust and want. They had gone too far that night and they both knew it. They were grateful for Rory's common sense kicking in.

"Goodnight Dodger." She whispered with a small smile before walking away.

AN: **Hey, so there's the 3rd chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Of course, who can write a story without ReVeIwS???-Subtle enough for you?**

**X0x0x-Chloe**


	4. Two days

**I'll see you in Washington**

**_Disclaimer_-Oh yeah, so I'm really Amy Sherman Palladino and when I'm not writing Gilmore Girls-because David Rosenthal has been killed by me-and not basking in my sheer brilliance I like to come onto this little website and make up stories about Gilmore Girls instead of actually making them the actual plotline. Oh, yeah, and I'm queen of the world. **

**A/N- Hey, I am so so so so so so so sorry this chapter took so long but school started up again and the whole week long I had no time to write. Thank you so much to Just A Girl Of The Hollow x3, hollowgirl22, Literati and naley forever, xliteratiwhorex, Allie, Curley-Q, SquegeeBeckinhiem, and allycat1186. You guys are so amazingly wonderful for sticking through with me. Reviews are the love of my life! My only way to know if I should stop writing instead of continuing is if you-what's that word ladies and gentlemen?-REVIEW! I don't really know what else to say so on with the show-or story. **

**Chapter 4**

Rory was flushed and could barely breathe as she stepped into the waiting elevator. She leaned against the wall and sunk to the floor, burying her head in her hands. What was she doing? Where would this end up? How much longer could he stay here? What did that kiss mean? All these questions flashed through her mind as she groaned and tried to figure out just what she had been thinking. What is this feeling I'm having? She asked herself. Lust-maybe. Love-probably. Desire-it could be. She was so confused. "Oh my god, I know!" said the girly voice that snapped Rory out of her problems. She looked up to see a beautiful blond and a tall, tan brunette staring down at her. She shook off their icy cold stares as she stood up and walked out. The moment she left they erupted in giggles, obviously laughing to her extent. Why didn't Jess go out with one of those girls? They were confident and obviously knew what they were doing and they were pretty and cheerleaderish and the type of girl any guy would want to be with. But that was why she loved Jess, he was so unpredictable and…God, what was she thinking? He wasn't even her…wait, was he now her boyfriend? This was their second kiss but…This was so confusing! Rory decided that now she would go to sleep and think about it another time.

Jess stood there, the thick Washington heat swirling around him. Why did she do this to him? How did she do this to him? One second they're talking about books and the next he can't pull himself away from her. This isn't him. This isn't Jess. This falling in love thing didn't happen to him. Except that it was right now.

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The next morning Rory woke up to realize that she'd had a dream. A dream about her and Jess. A dream where they had done a lot more than just kissing. She knew she shouldn't be thinking this, asleep or not, but it's not like she could control her dreams, could she? Rory rolled over and realized that Paris was no where in sight. Come to think of it, Rory hadn't seen Paris once in the past two days. Where could she be? A loud ca-thunk and an "Oof!" gave Rory the answer. She sat up and watched as Paris made a very ungraceful entrance.

"Oh, I didn't think you'd be up yet." Paris said, flushed.

"How could I still be asleep with that kind of wake-up call?" Rory asked.

"Oh, did I wake you up?"

"No, I was just laying there." Rory answered. "Hey, where have you been lately? I haven't seen you at all for two days straight. At the meeting yesterday I tried to catch you but you ran out so fast that I didn't even see you leave. You haven't been sleeping here at all and you're trying to sneaking in-not very well I might add-every morning. What gives?"

"Oh, you know…just busy with everything going on." Paris replied evasively.

"Busy huh? So busy you can't even fall asleep lest your work time be cut off?"

"Well, fine. I've been with Tristan." Paris confessed.

"Tristan?" Rory repeated, baffled.

"Yeah, I saw him the other day and we talked and…well, long story short, he said that when he was at military school, he couldn't stop thinking about me. Since then we've gotten pretty close."

"I'll say. Sleeping with him and all…" Rory remarked.

"Oh, jeez Rory!" Paris exclaimed.

"Oh, I didn't mean it that way. Sorry. So, this is good right?"

"This is good." Paris replied.

"Well, good." Rory said.

"Good."

"Alright, our conversations are getting extremely repetitive so I'm going to stop this right now."

"Ok." Paris replied.

"So about this president thing today-are we really meeting him?"

"Yeah, we're having dinner with the president tonight. Can you believe that? It's supposedly really fancy and we're supposed to look really nice." Paris said.

"Crap! I don't have any nice clothes here. Wait, it's tonight?"

Paris nodded and Rory immediately rushed to her closet and began getting dressed.

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"Luke?"

"Jess?" Luke asked.

"Yeah. Hi. You said to call. I'm calling" Jess said.

"Oh. Okay well, Jess, I need you back here in two days. I gave you a break but more than five days is too long. Caesar quit and I have no help."

"But…" Jess said but was cut off by Luke.

"No buts, I expect to see you at this diner two days from now. Bye Jess."

Jess couldn't believe this. Just when things with him and Rory started up he was getting pulled away. He remembered the feeling of loneliness he had felt before he'd come here. He was going to be right back where he started. Great, just great. He opened his door and decided to go and get some breakfast. When he reached the bottom floor he saw Rory walking out.

"Rory, hey, Rory wait up!" Jess called out. Rory turned and when she saw who was coming towards her a quick wave of heat flowed through her.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey." She replied, remembering the previous night's events.

"I was going to go get something to eat and check out the town for a while. You want to come with me? You could play tour guide." He proposed.

"Oh, well, I have to go clothes shopping. Sorry." She said, her look apologetic. He got it right away, Rory wanted to take back what had happened last night. She was trying to avoid him. Rory didn't go shopping; she was just trying to get away from him. It had all seemed too good to be true. He gave her an incredulous look.

"Hey, if you don't want to be around me you could just say so." And then he walked away.

"Jess, no, it's not like that at all. I'm having dinner with the president tonight and I need to get a dress or something. I would much rather be doing something with you. I swear." She said, her tone pleading Jess to understand. He stopped and turned around.

"The president huh?"

"Yeah, and the vice president and his-what are their names? The Cupboard? The Shelf?" She thought for a moment. "Oh, the Cabinet! Yeah, that's the name. So…yeah."

Jess looked her, his eyes laughing at her innocence. "Ok then, have fun shopping for Mr. President."

"Oh, I will." She said sarcastically. "I'll probably see you later."

"Yeah." And that was the end of their conversation. He silently scorned himself for not telling Rory that he was leaving. She had to find out eventually. He couldn't just leave, that would be the worst thing he could possibly do. No, he would tell her next time he saw her. Jess never thought he'd regret seeing Rory Gilmore but right now he was.

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"So, tell me more about Tristan." Rory said to Paris as she slipped on her black strappy kitten heels.

"Well, he looks pretty much the same and he's living here in Washington in this amazing penthouse apartment. He did so well at military school the instructors let him leave. He hasn't spoken to his dad once since he got sent away but he's talked to his mom a few times. He goes to Conrad High School and his mom pays for him to go there." Paris said, zippering up the back of her magenta colored square necked dress.

"Really, wow. I hope I can see him sometime. Are you and him…?" Rory asked.

"A couple? Not really. I mean so far it's just a good friendship that I don't want to screw up so no, not yet. Plus, I've got Jamie." Paris replied. "What time is it?"

"It is…6:23. We've got to leave in like three minutes to go meet Mrs. Doslin and leave." Rory said. She put on a small amount of makeup, pulled her hair up and did one last mirror check. "Let's go."

"Wait, where are my note cards?" Paris cried.

"Note cards?"

"Yeah, you know-conversation ideas. I had 12 of them, where did they all go?" Paris asked wildly searching the room.

"Paris, I don't know but we've got to go." Rory said.

"You leave, I'll meet you down there, just don't drive off without me." Paris instructed.

"You sure?" Rory asked tentatively.

"Yes, Go!" Paris yelled and Rory obliged, quickly stepping out of the room. As she shut her door she heard another click just down the hall. Rory turned her head to see Jess walking out of his room, looking troubled. When his eyes met hers he sucked his breath and froze.

Her dress was a deep red spaghetti strapped V-neck. Its tight top was torturing Jess and he ripped his eyes away to take in the rest. The skirt fell loosely and her heels were small, black, strappy and sweet. Her hair was in a high ponytail, baring her beautiful neck to him. Her porcelain skin glowed and the vision of her was almost too much for him.

"Hey again." Rory said quietly. She knew that look he was giving her now. It was the look she loved but she knew was incredibly dangerous at the same time. She craved this look but shied away from it all the same. He looked good, really good. She suddenly didn't want to go to dinner at all. She wanted to stay here with Jess forever and have him look at her like this all night long.

"Hey." He said, his voice deep and unsafe. They slowly walked towards the elevator and when the doors opened they stepped in wordlessly. "You look good." He said finally and it was the truth. She looked more than good, she looked amazing.

"Thanks." She said softly, a blush rising to her cheeks. She looked downward, trying to avoid his gaze but it was impossible.

Her childish antics were incredibly seductive to him. He wanted to pull her to him and kiss her with an extreme ravish and force. Of course he couldn't do that. This was Rory, untouchable Rory. The Rory he had to stay away from. But he couldn't, she was just too beautiful. Especially tonight, here, in this elevator next to her. This image would haunt him forever. He examined her face closer and realized that she looked older, more matured. He liked this Rory. He then remembered that had to tell her he was leaving. The elevator's _Ding_ interrupted his thoughts and he sighed as the doors opened and they were forced to step out. What was wrong with him? He didn't even know. He slowly said goodbye in his head to Rory as she walked away to an older looking woman and took one last long look at her, hoping to savor this image forever.

AN: **Hey, so there's the 4th chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Just because I'm sticking Tristan in this story does not mean it will be a Trory-which it won't. I know that this chapter was just kind of fluff but there will be more Rory/Jess interaction next chapter. I will probably take a while to write the next one. I'm sorry I'm so slow but school makes it hard for me to have time. Of course, who can write a story without ReVeIwS???-Subtle enough for you? **

**X0x0x-Chloe**


	5. Definitely Wanting Something

**I'll see you in Washington**

**_Disclaimer_-Oh yeah, so I'm really Amy Sherman Palladino and when I'm not writing Gilmore Girls-because David Rosenthal has been killed by me-and not basking in my sheer brilliance I like to come onto this little website and make up stories about Gilmore Girls instead of actually making them the plotline. Oh, yeah, and I'm queen of the world. **

**A/N-Hey, ok, I am SO SORRY! I am the slowest updater in the history of slow updaters. I will now tell you that I am only going to be able to update weekly. Damn school and their mandatory attendance…Ok, time for my list of fabulous people. Just A Girl Of The Hollow x3, Literati and naley forever, literatigirl, Curley-Q, SquegeeBeckinhiem, allycat1186, Britterina, CuriousCaker, ilovejessssss, and watergurl123. You all can be my best friends(except Squegee because you already are) because you are the absolute best best best ever! Reviews are the love of my life! I have passed the line of want and now truly need you to-what's that word ladies and gentlemen? That's right-REVIEW! I don't really know what else to say so on with the show-or story. **

**p.s.-this chapter gets a little dirtier kissing-wise, just thought I'd warn you.**

**Chapter 5**

"Hey mom, guess what? Tonight I met the president!" Rory said into the phone as she changed into her matching flannel pajama pants and top.

"Seriously? Was he all uptight and stuffy? Oh! Did you ask him if he secretly harbors a desire to rip his shirt off and do a table dance every time he goes to an important meeting? I've always wanted to know that because, well, you've seen the gleam in those president's eyes sometimes. They've got another side of them, I know it, they just haven't shown it to the public but…"

"No mom, I didn't ask him that considering that he is the president and asking him anything that involves the word 'table dance' probably wouldn't be acceptable. It was cool though. He answered all me and Paris's questions and he was really nice. He seemed like a real person. It was cool." Rory said.

"Wow hon, that is cool. You're lucky you got that opportunity." Lorelai said as she flicked a sun chip into her mouth and flipped through the pay-per-view channels, searching for a good movie. "Movie nights around here suck without you. All impersonations and impressions have been put on hold until you're return."

"I'm sorry mom. Well, you've got Bruce to keep you company, don't you?" Rory asked.

"Old Bruce is holding back on me! There's nothing good on tonight, nothing!" Lorelai cried dramatically.

"Hey, whose idea was it to name the television because I'm pretty sure it wasn't me." Rory questioned.

"Oh, no, that was you when you were about nine. You insisted we name him after the hunky football player in that movie we'd watched the night before, hence the name Bruce." Lorelai responded.

"Oh." Rory said. "Hey mom, I'm going to go to bed, I'm super tired."

"Ok, well, call me again tomorrow and tell me if you moved up to meeting Brad Pitt."

"Mom, this is a school trip where we learn about the government. I doubt Brad Pitt would be on Headmaster Charleston's list of influential people for his students to meet." Rory said.

"Oh, right. Ok well, call me anyway. Night hon." Lorelai said.

"G'night." Rory echoed and hung up the phone. _God it's hot in here._ She thought to herself and she stripped off the sweaty flannel pajamas in favor for a thin tank top and her pair of short, ragged shorts. She didn't think she would be seeing anyone else tonight. Boy, was she wrong.

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Jess looked down at the contents he had dumped onto the floor from his bag. The majority of items were books, one in particular called _Never My Own_. He had bought this book for Rory and planned on giving it to her. Jess checked his clock and it read 9:43. Rory should be back from her dinner by now. He stood up and walked out the door and straight to the identical one two feet down the wall. The door to her room was slightly opened. When Jess walked into Rory's room there was no Rory. He sighed and slowly stepped out, feeling defeated.

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Rory stepped out of the bathroom just as she saw a mess of dark hair, slipping around the corner. This hair happened to be Jess's head.

"Jess! Jess, Did you want something?" Rory called out before turning to see her pile of CDs she had brought tumble to the ground. She quickly hurried over and began picking them up as she heard Jess's steady footsteps returning to her room. She turned around and gave him a small smile before standing up. Her shirt was so thin and those shorts were so short. She obviously didn't expect him to be here tonight. Jess remembered her previous statement and he couldn't help himself.

"Yes, I definitely want something." He said, smirking. His comment immediately affected Rory and a steady blush flowed up her cheeks. She gathered herself and replied with an equally daring smirk.

"Oh, and what would that be?" Jess was surprised by her easy answer but went on with their game.

"Numerous things. The list would probably start with having Mr. Hemingway rising from the dead. There's nothing like a great writer after 45 years of sitting in dirt." Jess replied.

"Anything else on that list?" Rory asked.

"Hmm…" he said, pretending to think. "Maybe a few other things, nothing monumental. I always thought it would be cool to be a dog for a day, I mean, wouldn't you like to know how life is from their point of view? And that whole color-blind myth, now is it really a myth or…" he was cut off by Rory crashing her lips to his. When had she gotten so close? Last time he had checked she was on the other side of the room. They shared an excruciating kiss, much more dangerous than their other two. Now they were really alone, in a room, with a bed. So many things that could happen… Slowly Rory backed Jess into the wall behind him, never taking her lips away. They can't breathe and even if they could, they wouldn't. If they moved away, even for a second, this moment of innocence would be broken. His hands found their way to the small of her back and they lifted her higher and pressed her into him. Slowly, they slipped underneath her tank top and moved up and down the warm skin there. She tangled her hands in his hair and forced herself to pull back, but only for breathing, which she needed to do to live, and she couldn't kiss Jess at all or do anything with Jess if she wasn't alive, therefore, she really needed to breathe. Her eyes searched his. The chocolate brown was darkened by his emotions that coursed through him at the time. Hers were bright and alert. She moved in again, this time all gentle caresses forgotten. She opened her mouth and his tongue slipped in, causing all blood in her veins to jump. His hands increased with pressure on her back, pulling her closer and closer to him. Her hands skimmed the back of his neck as they began their journey. Slowly, the reached their destination at the hemline of his shirt, where they slipped up, between their bodies. He was incredibly warm and she could feel the strong muscles in his stomach. She then slid her fingers along his torso. He shivered at her touch and held back a moan. He suddenly pulled his lips away from hers and she immediately opened her eyes and pouted at the loss of contact. She then realized he had a goal. He moved down her jawbone and to her neck, slowly sucking on the skin there. She moved her head back and wondered how he did this to her. How he forced every bit of rational thought out of and pulled this monster out. This inner argument with herself was quickly forgotten when he grabbed some of her skin with his teeth and began biting her harder and harder. As much as this was pain it was passion and she couldn't rid herself from it.

"Je…Jesss…" she moaned as he made his way to her ear. These sounds aroused him heavily and he pulled her closer, if that was even possible. It was. This last centimeter showed her just what he was feeling. She gasped at what she could feel through his jeans. He was losing control. Tension was building up in him. Her hands were everywhere. Her moans were torturing him. Her hips gave a sudden jolt and any innocence that was left, was now lost. He attacked her lips, ferociously tangling his tongue with hers. Her hips were now moving on their own accord and she couldn't stop. The heat was stifling and she had a feeling it had nothing to do with the broken air conditioning. She could feel warmth accumulating in her underwear and his hands were dangerously high in her shirt. Suddenly, a light bulb seemed to flick on in her head and she broke away, breathing heavily.

"We…have…to…stop." She panted out. He nodded, once again glad for her common sense and she guided him by the shoulders towards her door, her mind still whirring. She was about to shut the door when Jess remembered something.

"Rory, I have to go back in two days."

He said it quickly and quietly. She studied him and he saw a definite wave of sadness pass through her. She laid her emotions out for him to see easily. He had no trouble reading her.

"I'm sorry, it's just Luke…he needs me at the diner so…"

"Yeah, ok. Well, do you think we could hang out tomorrow then?" Rory asked as she digested this new information and tried to play it cool.

"Yeah, ok." He answered.

"G'night." She said

"Night." He replied and stepped into his own room.

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_I am such an idiot._ This was all Rory could think. How could she have ever believed this would work out? _I just broke up with Dean, no one knows Jess is even here, and they don't know about the kiss at the wedding, and I'm not coming back for another four weeks and Jess is going back in two days and THIS ALL SUCKS!_ Rory thought in her head. Inner monologues were her specialty, especially the self deprecating kind. The only thing left to do was something Rory would later regret, but right now really needed.

_6.2.5.9.9.8.5. _Rory typed into her phone. _Ringg…Ringg…_

"The coffee machine is about to overflow so whoever you are, make it snappy." Came Lorelai's rushed voice.

"Hey, umm, Mom, I need to talk to you."

AN: **Hey, so there's the 5th chapter. For some reason, 5th chapter makes me feel good. Like I'm really going somewhere with this story. Tristan will come in next chapter, but he is not screwing up Rory and Jess's kind of relationship, I promise. Of course, who can write a story without ReVeIwS???-Subtle enough for you?**

**X0x0x-Chloe**


	6. Gonna Make It Work

**I'll see you in Washington**

_**Disclaimer**_**-Oh yeah, so I'm really Amy Sherman Palladino and when I'm not writing Gilmore Girls-because David Rosenthal has been killed by me-and not basking in my sheer brilliance I like to come onto this little website and make up stories about Gilmore Girls instead of actually making them the plotline. Oh, yeah, and I'm queen of the world. **

**A/N-Hey, so I have no excuse for this insane longness it took me to write besides laziness and school. And after all that, this chapter isn't even that good. I'm really angry at myself, if that makes you feel any better Ok, time for my list of fabulous people. ****Just A Girl Of The Hollow x3****Literati and naley forever****, Alexis/Rory+Milo/JessLOVE, ****SquegeeBeckinhiem****allycat1186****Britterina****ilovejessssss****xliteratiwhorex****hollowgirl22****RoRyJeSsAdDiCt****gg-ghgirl775****, and ****watergurl123****. You ROCK MY SOCKS!!!-what is that expression really? How can you rock someone's socks? Oh, the eternal question springs up again.-****Reviews are the love of my life! ****I have passed the line of want and now truly need you to-what's that word ladies and gentlemen? That's right-REVIEW! I don't really know what else to say so on with the show-or story. **

**Chapter 6**

"Hey, umm Mom, I need to talk to you." Rory said hesitantly.

"Ror? What's wrong?"

"Um, well, I've got a little explaining to do." She answered

"Uh oh…" Lorelai muttered, knowing that nothing good could come of this.

"Yeah, ok, but first I need you to promise that you will not interrupt or freak out at any time throughout this monologue I will proceed into, no matter how angry or how intense your inner flip-outs are ok?" Rory asked.

"Rory, you're getting mommy worried here, it would be best if you just tell me what the hell is going on so I can sigh with relief and say 'oh thank goodness' because what you've just told me is nothing that will truly worry me. That is what's going to happen right?"

"Um…well, depends on how much you love me these days." Rory said quietly.

"Rory?"

"Ok well, I'll start at the beginning, so at Sookie's wedding Jess showed up and…."

Rory went on for the next 25 minutes explaining every last detail to Lorelai, relieved to finally confide in someone but dreaded her mother's response. When she finally finished she took a deep breath and braced herself.

"Hon, this was a long time coming, you knew it, I knew it, Dean knew it, Jess knew it, Luke knew it, Miss Patty knew it, Babbette knew…"

"Ok! I get it!" Rory interrupted.

"Sorry…This is a lot of information for me to digest and half of me is having a mini heart attack while the other half is saying, it's going to be alright, Rory's careful. I just wish you two weren't alone in a city where no one's watching out for you. You're really falling hard aren't you babe?" Lorelai questioned

"Yeah, I think I am. Mom, you know that nothing is going to happen, right?"

"Yeah, I know it's just…Jess. Jess, the guy I pushed away for such a long time and resisted and hated and now he's in Washington with you, stealing your heart away bit by bit and melting it into a pile of mush."

"You make it sound like I'm a mindless idiot being brainwashed by him." Rory said.

"Well, if the shoe fits…" Lorelai replied jokingly.

"Mom!"

"Sorry, sorry. Carry on." Lorelai said.

" So when I go back to Stars Hollow what am I going to do? There's no way to explain me being with Jess when I've been gone for the past month and a half."

"I don't know hon. You could both pretend you weren't really together but sneak out every night dressed in Zorro masks and meet at a previously decided location."

"Why the Zorro masks?" Rory asked.

"So nobody can tell who you are, duh!" Lorelai explained

"Some big help you are." Rory muttered.

"I know, aren't I wonderful?"

"Goodnight Mom." Rory said.

"Night hon."

"Wait Mom, one more thing, do you think you could not tell Luke that Jess is here? That wouldn't be good if he knew because it would probably end up with Jess in a headlock about thirty times more serious than the one Luke gave Dean if you know what I mean."

"Um, well.."

"Mom please!"

"Ok Ror, I won't tell him but I don't like this." Lorelai relented.

"I know, I'm sorry. Thank you Mom." Rory said with relief.

"You're welcome."

"Kay. See you in another 3 weeks and a half weeks."

"I'm counting down the days." Lorelai replied.

And with that out of the way, Rory climbed into bed and went to sleep, deciding she could worry in the morning.

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When Rory woke up she saw Paris pulling a shirt over her head. She hadn't seen Paris in a while, she'd had been pretty busy lately.

"Hey, when'd you get here?" Rory asked.

"Last night at about 11:30. You were already asleep."

"Yeah." Rory said slowly, remembering last night's events.

"So, do you think I could see Tristan sometime soon? I want to catch up with him. It's so weird you ran into him here."

"Tristan's gone." Paris stated.

"What?" Rory questioned.

"He's gone. He tried to make a move on me last night and I told him I had a boyfriend and that I couldn't do this and long story short, he called a cab, stomped out of his apartment and drove straight out of the city." Paris explained.

"Oh. Wow. Wait, you have a boyfriend?" Rory asked.

"Jamie, I guess. It was my only defense against Tristan plus, Jamie and I are kind of dating. I really like him."

"Paris, that's great!" Rory exclaimed

"Yeah, I guess. How's it going with you and James Dean?" Paris asked.

"Jess? Um, it's going. I don't know where or how I just know that it's going." Rory said, sighing. Paris nodded and reminded Rory that they had breakfast with the Eastern Political Representatives.-(AN, I just totally made that name up, I don't know about this important kind of stuff)

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Jess was completely at a loss of what to do. He and Rory could try the long distance relationship for a while but was what they had even a relationship? Whatever it was, it was going too fast for both of them. Jess had never been so confused with a girl. He wanted this to work, but did she? He let his mind drift back to the times before, the innocent banters they shared, that night they shared out in the dark, just wandering and following their instincts, ending up on top of a building and not even caring. Did this have to be so confusing? Of course it did. She was Rory, and Rory deserved the best, no matter how confusing the best was.

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They went an entire day without seeing each other, neither knowing what they would do if they did happen to run into one another. The confusion between them was overwhelming and Rory couldn't take it anymore. She was lying in her bed, tossing and turning, when she jumped up, grabbed her key and marched out of her room. She pounded on his door and heard footsteps ambling towards her on the other side of the hard wood. When he opened it she could see he had been in bed but hadn't been asleep because his eyes were very much awake, and surprised to see her standing there. Rory looked down and checked her watch. It read 10:17.

"Come with me, Jess. Please." She said, her tone wavering slightly. He nodded wordlessly and stepped into his sneakers by the door before following her to the elevator. When they finally reached the bottom and stepped out into the night they just walked. Finally he stopped and looked at her inquisitively. He was patient but he needed to know what they were doing out here, if not just walking. She saw him looking at her and she turned so that their eyes met in the dark. She knew he wanted answers, but so did she.

"Jess, what are we doing? What is this thing we're having? I really need to know. Are we together or what? And what happens when you go back?" She asked, bubbling over with questions.

"What do you want this to be?" Jess inquired quietly.

"I want this to work." Rory replied, bluntly but just as quietly.

"Then we'll make it work." He said, his insides beaming happiness.

"And when you go back?" Rory prompted.

"We'll talk." He said.

"Ok. You're leaving tomorrow?"

"Yeah, the bus leaves at 9:15 in the morning." He answered.

"Ok. Well, goodnight." She said and rushed back into the building where she climbed into bed, leaving him standing in the cold, looking at her retreated form, bewildered by Rory Gilmore once again.

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_I'm going to make this work._ A voice whispered in her head, and she hoped it was telling the truth. She knew she could do this; she'd already fallen under his spell. There was no use fighting in. She couldn't get him out of her mind, she thought about him every night, and every time she saw him she could swear her blood stopped flowing through her veins for a moment. _Yes, I'm going to make this work, _She decided.

AN: **Hey, so there's the 6th chapter. I will try and get out the next chapter quicker than last time. I'm giving major writer's block though. If anyone has suggestions, please PM me…thanx! Of course, who can write a story without ReVeIwS???-Subtle enough for you?**

**X0x0x-Chloe**


	7. No Call, Welcome home baby

**I'll see you in Washington**

_**Disclaimer**_**-Oh yeah, so I'm really Amy Sherman Palladino and when I'm not writing Gilmore Girls-because David Rosenthal has been killed by me-and not basking in my sheer brilliance I like to come onto this little website and make up stories about Gilmore Girls instead of actually making them the plotline. Oh, yeah, and I'm queen of the world. **

**A/N-Hey, so last chapter sucked, I know. There was almost no point to it and if you hated it, well don't worry cuz I hated it too. I hope this one suffices.**

Ilovejessssss- I'm glad you like my story, that chapter was a total filler, I know. Thank you for constructive criticism, it really does help.

Literati and Naley forever- Thanks for the ideas, I'll use em. You have reviewed all my chapters, I love you!

Just a Girl of the Hollow x3- you never stop reviewing, you are amazing!

Watergurl123- Thanks for liking my story!

Britterina- I'm so glad you love my story, plus it's good to know I can sufficiently make up political names and have them sound real now.

Hollowgirl22- yay! You love it! That's all you have to say to make me happy

Curley-Q- Thank you for reading and enjoying. You always give good comments that really help.

Xliteratiwhorex-Thank you!

**This chapter goes out to my never failing, fabulouso ****Literati and Naley Forever**** and ****Just a Girl of the Hollow x3**** for being the most faithful read and reviewers ever. I love you two even though I don't know you or anything about you, you're still awesome! **

**Chapter 7**

_Jess is gone. He's already left and I slept right through it. God, I'm such an idiot. He's really gone._

Rory stood in Jess's old room's open doorway and she looked around at its emptiness. "And now the journey begins…" She muttered to herself before stepping out into the hallway and back to her own room.

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Rory sat staring at the phone, willing it to ring. This had been going on for the past five minutes. She'd begun her little game just after she finished the book Jess had left in her room that particular night that she didn't want to go into at the moment. She knew that if she did she would lose all rational thought and fall into JessLand. She'd loved the book and really wanted to talk to him about it if the damn phone would just ring! She was getting frustrated and finally she picked it up and dialed the number long ago memorized.

"Hello?" Came his gruff, familiar voice. He sounded tired, like his day had been too long.

"Hey." Rory replied. Jess sat up at her voice.

"Hey." He said again, his voice considerably gentler.

"How are you?" She asked.

"I'm ok. You?" He replied.

"I'm doing good. Sorry I was asleep when you left. I did want to say goodbye, it's just, well, I had a hard time going to sleep last night so…"

"Hey, it's fine, I get it." He assured her.

"Ok, good. Hey you know that book, _Never My Own_ you left in my room the, umm, other night?" She asked.

"Hmm, sorry Rory, I can't remember that night. Do you think you could specify it a little more?" He asked. He could practically see her blush through the phone and he smirked to himself.

"Two nights ago? You came to my room and…" She trailed off there.

Jess paused, making it sound like he was in deep thought.

"Nope, sorry, not ringing a bell. What exactly did we do when I came to your room? Maybe that'll help me remember." He said, loving every second of this.

"Jess! You know which night I'm talking about!" She cried. He laughed at her annoyance and how easy it was to fluster her before finally leaving the topic alone.

"Yes Rory, I know the book. What about it?" He conceded

"Well, I just read it, and it's really good." She replied

"Ok. Care to add on that?" He asked.

"Well, I thought it was really fascinating how he truly lived through his sister, the concept is totally unique, of course him committing her suicide in the end was probably one of the saddest things I've ever read."

"Yeah, Burton is a genius when it comes to originality." Jess noted.

'_Jess? Jess, where the hell are you? I need you to close up today. Who are you on the phone with?'_ Luke yelled as he walked into Jess's room.

"Why do you care?" Jess asked.

"I have never seen you on the phone before." Luke said, baffled.

"Well mark the date and time." Jess said sarcastically.

"I need you downstairs to help close up."

"Fine."

"Now Jess."

"Fine." And with that Luke stepped out of the room and returned to the diner.

"A sneak peak into the wonderful life of Jess Mariano, everybody, hold tight, we might be able to grab him for a quick interview, after the break." Rory said in a television announcer voice.

"Well, I gotta…."

"Go, I got it. Call me tomorrow ok?" Rory asked.

"Okay." Jess replied before hanging up and trudging out of the apartment.

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Rory had spent the entire day helping a stuffy old woman organize her files. Apparently this was 'practice for an internship in the real world, so she could have a real sense of what it's like out there'. The only thing Rory was sensing was exhaustion and a headache. She had been lying on her bed in the hot room doing nothing since she got back, which was 45 minutes ago. She could read a book but all her books were on the other side of the room and to get them she would have to move, which she was currently incapable of doing. She wondered when he was going to call. It was 7:30, so that meant the diner would be closed by now. Slowly, Rory forced herself off the bed and picked up _Wuthering Heights_, the first book on her pile. After getting ¾ of the way through, she realized she couldn't keep her eyes opened and so she went to sleep, without a call.

This went on for three days, Rory missing him and waiting for him to call, but the call never coming. Rory didn't want to be that girl. The girl that waited and waited for him to call and then as soon as he bothered to make an appearance, forgave him immediately. Finally Rory decided to do it herself. Of course, she got the machine. "Hey Jess, it's me. Please call." Rory said before hanging up. She made it as vague as possible so if Luke heard the message first he wouldn't know it was her. Another two days she waited. She wasn't going to do this. She grew angrier every time she looked at the phone. Finally, on the 6th day of no call, Rory dialed the number her eyes had been longing to see in the caller ID box each day herself.

"Luke's"

It was him.

"Jess." Rory said.

"Yeah?" He answered. Was this Rory, he wondered.

"You never called." Yup, It was Rory. He tried desperately to think up a good excuse.

"Yeah, well, things have been pretty busy here and…" He hopelessly failed.

"Jess, if you can't handle something as simple as a phone call to your girlfriend then I doubt you can handle a real relationship. I've been sitting here, waiting for the nonexistent call, I called you three times, I asked you to call twice and I left a message, but still-no call. It hurts Jess. You know what, this was a mistake. Everyone was right. This was all a big mistake. Sure, I liked you but I didn't have to act on that. I'm…I'm sorry Jess, I just…can't do this. I'll see you in Stars Hollow." And then Rory hung up, leaving Jess speechless and leaving Rory crumpling up in a little ball on the floor by her bed. She threw everything away for him and now…-now he's gone.

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2 weeks gone and it was D-day! Time to go home! Finally she could see Lorelai, and get Luke's coffee and sleep in her own bed. Two weeks was enough to get over a guy. She was sure of it. She was definitely over Jess. Now she was free to be guy-less for a while. Rory checked once last time to make sure she had everything in her bag before saying her goodbyes to her room and her building and the memories it had made. What happened in Washington, stays in Washington.

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"Jeez, you sure are perky this morning." Luke noted as Lorelai came bouncing in to the diner.

"Quick, Quick, Quick! Coffee, Coffee, Coffee!" She ordered.

"Why the rush?" Luke asked as he filled a mug with coffee and slid it over the counter to her. Jess was standing over in the corner, taking people's orders.

"I have exactly 32 minutes to go pick up Rory, giving me 2 minutes for coffee!" And which three quick gulps, Lorelai emptied her mug and rushed out. Luke stared after her, astounded. Jess had frozen when he'd heard Rory's name. Rory was coming back today? Oh, crap. Could he deal with that? Probably not. Why hadn't he just goddamn called? No, he had to ruin the one chance he'd ever have to be with Rory because he was to busy being lazy. Rory was coming home today. Won't that be fun?

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"Oh, and we have to go to Luke's cause they got a new Special's board and he's totally weird seeing this omelet thing up there now in these totally cool bubble letters though also kind of depressing. So here we are. Welcome home baby!" Lorelai babbled. They were parked right in front of Luke's. This did not go unnoticed by Rory. Luke's equals Jess. Jess. But she was over him right? Right.

This mini pep talk was going on in Rory's head right now and she finally stepped out of the car. She was definitely over him, she told herself. They two girls stepped into the diner and Rory breathed in the familiar smell. Home sweet home, she thought to herself. After scanning the crowed seating at the tables, she looked up towards the counter and immediately locked eyes with a certain someone she had just been telling herself she was over. In that one moment when their eyes met, Rory felt every emotion physically possible to feel in one moment. She felt like a ton of bricks and been dropped on her head, all the air had been sucked out of her, she was floating in midair, and had just been placed in a furnace. No, she was definitely not over him.

AN**. Ok it is late, I am tired, and my eyes are bloodshot. Time to go to bed. Hope you like this chapter. Remember when I said there was no Shane in my summary? Well, I'm keeping that. In my world, Shane doesn't exist. ****Reviews are the love of my life! ****I have passed the line of want and now truly need you to-what's that word ladies and gentlemen? That's right-REVIEW! **

**X0x0x-Chloe**


	8. Booth going down, Some bad day

**See you in Washington**

_**Disclaimer**_**-Oh yeah, so I'm really Amy Sherman Palladino and when I'm not writing Gilmore Girls-because David Rosenthal has been killed by me-and not basking in my sheer brilliance I like to come onto this little website and make up stories about Gilmore Girls instead of actually making them the plotline. Oh, yeah, and I'm queen of the world. **

**A/N-Hey, so new chapter. This one is long. Rory's finally back. She and Jess talk. Numerous times. Check out my AN at the bottom when you're done cuz it might answer some questions.**

**Now, my fabulouso reviewers:**

gg-ghgirl759- yay! You like my story. That chapter was supposed to be kind of sad.

ilovejessssss-you're so right, this story would be going no where if they were just together the whole time. I'm glad you like my story. Of course I appreciate you're opinion!

Just A Girl Of The Hollow x3-you're super reviewer! You never stop…I'm so glad you love it.

xliteratiwhorex-they will, trust me, they will…

Curley-Q-They talk…they will be ok, just not in this chapter. Sorry, but the entire story can't just be happy Rory/jess bliss. I have to go somewhere with it. Thanx for reviewing

Britterina-I hate Shane with a passion. I'm glad you like my story so much and I really do try to capture Lorelai's personality so I'm happy it's working for you!

Literati and naley forever-Thanks for reviewing every chapter, I'm happy you liked my chapter:-D

hollowgirl22-Yay! Thank you!

watergurl123-you liked my chapter-that's good. Jess never was the most reliable was he? I couldn't make him perfect because that wouldn't be realistic.

allycat1186-I'm so glad you like my Lorelai, of course who can do it better than APS though?

RBDFAN-thank you thank you thank you! Just one thing-RBD as in the band? If so, I don't know you. (I'm not mean, as you may be thinking right now, I just can't stand RBD)

gilmorejunkie1230-yay, you like it! Boo, no gf for jess, he and Rory are the only couple I will ever have together.

**Chapter 8**

Rory held his gaze. _Why does he have to have such amazing eyes?_ How could she have forgotten those, the miles of chocolate brown? Oh, who was she kidding, she hadn't forgotten a thing. She had remembered everything about him, from the way his muscles flexed underneath his shirt when he worked around the diner to the exact creamy color of his skin. As exciting as she had been to come home, returning to Washington was sounding pretty good right now.

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He tried to figure out what she was thinking but the only thing her eyes said was lost. She looked lost. Lost in what? Him? No, she had ended it, he wasn't enough for her, and it was over. He had to accept it. Except…she was staring at him too intensely to be feeling nothing. _Oh come off it Mariano,_ he told himself.

Lorelai was staring at the both of them. They seemed frozen in time, stranded in space, and Rory had on a look Lorelai had never seen before. She sighed, knowing it would be like this for a while, now that Rory and Jess were on such awkward terms with each other. "Ahemm." She cleared her throat to get Rory's attention. It seemed to not be working.

"Hey Luke, look, Rory's back! Rory, why don't you go say hi to Luke?" Lorelai prompted loudly. Rory immediately whipped her head up and broke the trance between her and Jess. Jess blinked and sighed, before turning and walking up the stairs to Luke's apartment. Rory took one last glance at him before turning to meet Luke, who was oblivious to the goings on in his diner, quite the contrary to Babbette and Miss Patty, who had already leaned in and were talking in hushed tones. And we all know nothing good could come of that.

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After Luke's, Rory and Lorelai went home, where Rory unloaded her bags and Lorelai made no remarks on Jess and Rory's little staring contest. They then met Sookie and Jackson and made their way to the Summer Madness Festival. Taylor had once again gone all out with this and the incessant "_Roll out those lazy hazy crazy days of summer"_ was starting to drive Rory crazy. She made her way to the farthest part of the festival, over near the balloon blower's booth. She wondered how they could possibly call it a booth when it was five times the size of a normal tent and had 3 tables stuck inside it, each with different colored balloons on them.

"Song killing you too?" Came a voice from behind her. Rory whipped her head around to see Jess mere inches from her face. Immediately, she backed up and began looking around for an easy way out.

"What?" she asked, having not quite caught what he had said.

"I said, 'is the song killing you too?'."

He noticed her darting eyes and her feet that moved back a little more with every word he uttered. "I'm not going to eat you, you know, and if I do attempt to, I promise I'll give enough time to escape, you don't have to start backing off now." He said.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. It's just…"

"Awkward?" he finished for her.

"Yeah, awkward. Hey, what do you think would happen if I pushed that in?" Rory asked, gesturing towards one of the metal poles that held the "booth" stabilized. On the pole was a small piece of metal sticking out of a hole with a sign that said, Booth will fall if touched. Nothing about not pressing it, just that it would fall if it was pushed in.

"Considering the sign says it will fall, I'm guessing it will fall. Why? You feeling daring today, Gilmore?" He asked, his eyebrows raised in a disbelieving fashion.

"No, I was just wondering." She hurriedly said.

"Uh huh…right…You know you want to Rory…" He teased.

"No way, I am not destroying the balloon booth! If you're so stuck on that, you do it!"

"Hey, you're the one who came up with the idea!" He exclaimed.

"I was only curious. I had no plans to actually touch ever. In fact, the thought hadn't even crossed through my head into you brought it up." She announced defensively.

"Not even one thought?" He asked, challenging her.

"Nope. Well…"

"Oh, you so admit it. You want to. Just press it. Ha, I can see the headlines now: **Rory Gilmore, Resident Town Princess Destroyed Booth. Banishings Will Be Held, Hangings Will Be Admonished. ****Jess Mariano Was Said To Be An Alliance To Her In This Time Of Horrors.**" He said loudly. She let out a small giggle before the smile turned into a mischievous glint that only showed in her eyes.

_She's really going to do it, she just needs a little push,_ he thought.

"Come on, it's the perfect time!" he encouraged as the balloon man, dressed in red and white pinstripes and a red top hat, put up his lunch break sign. _God Lord, he looks like a candy cane,_ Rory thought. It was perfect time and the thought was so tempting. It was about time she bent the rules a little. In her mind, she counted to three and then reached out and jabbed her finger into the metal before taking off and running.

She was oblivious to anything around her, she just ran. When she was far enough away, she turned around and looked at what she had done. The tent was on the ground, candy cane man was standing in front of it looking like he was about to cry, balloons were flying through the air all around the tent and Taylor was sitting in his wheelchair, mouth hanging open, dumbfounded. A small crowd was gathering around the tent as more balloons rocketed upwards and all Rory could do was laugh. She laughed and laughed and she now knew why Jess enjoyed this so much. Taylor had jumped up from the wheelchair and was hobbling about giving different people directions. _This was definitely worth it_, she thought to herself.

"Welcome to the dark side, Rory." Jess muttered as her passed her, a smirk adorned on his face. Rory rolled her eyes but as soon as he was out of eyesight she smiled a tiny smile, a smile she saved just for him. _What am I doing?_ She asked herself.

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"Another fun one!" Lorelai yelled as she met up with Rory and they walked back to their house.

"Our town isn't capable of hosting one uneventful event." Rory replied, knowing this one's events happened to be because of her.

"Yeah. I wonder how that thing fell. Taylor said it could only collapse if someone touched the little metal thingy-ma-jig. Whoever did it, they have my prayers, because if Taylor figures them out it'll be 'here's Johnny' all over again except instead of an axe bashing through the door, it'd be a chainsaw. Of course then it would be more Chainsaw Massacre than The Shining. Well whatever, they're both equally threatening in my mind, especially with Taylor as the main character." Lorelai rambled. Rory was avoiding her mother's eyes and her face was flushed with a faint pink. They had reached the Gilmore home and were walking up the driveway now.

"Hon, I've got to go take a shift at the inn. I'll see you at around seven alright?"

"Kay, I'll order Chinese." Rory offered.

"Oh, let's tackle the beef column this time!" Lorelai said excitedly.

"Ok. See you mom."

"Bye honey." Lorelai called as she jumped into the Jeep and drove off.

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Rory still had yet to see Dean once since she had arrived home, since she had taken to avoiding Doose's and the only times she saw Jess were when she was in Luke's and he was working there. They hadn't talked since their run-in at the festival, though occasionally when he was pouring her coffee or serving her food he would give her a tiny, almost invisible smirk, to which she would blush and look away. She realized that she only had books on her shelf that she had read before. She didn't mind rereading books but any one of these would be a 5th timer and she wanted something new to read. It was time for a trip to Andrew's.

When she arrived she went straight to the Classics section, one of her favorites. She realized she had read everything on all 3 of the shelves. She moved onto the drama/romance section but decided that was too intense for right now. The new editions would have something. After gathering up her pile of 16 books-a miniscule number compared to her average pile-she turned around to go pay. That's when she saw it.

Jess. Jess and a girl. Jess and a pretty girl. Jess and a pretty girl laughing. Rory couldn't see his expression but the girl looked like she was having the time of her life. Every cell in Rory's body was taken over by anger. She wanted nothing more than to rip this girl limb to limb and then run home and cry. Why was she feeling this though? She wasn't with Jess. He wasn't going to just sit and pine over her. She hadn't expected him to. Well, maybe she had just a little but she shouldn't have.

The girl finally left the store and Rory marched up to the checkout line, standing just behind Jess.

"Hey." He greeted when he noticed her.

"Hey yourself." She replied huffily.

"Did I do something to offend?" He asked, confused by her behavior.

"You? Oh, no…nothing at all. Really." She said, more trying to convince herself than him.

"Huh." He watched as Andrew bagged his books before finally saying, "Her name's Nicole." She looked up at him startled before realizing what he'd said. Could he read her mind or something?

"I know her. Head cheerleader? Constantly surrounded by a huddle of people who seem to be laughing about nothing? Yeah, I know her." Rory replied bitterly. Jess nodded and grabbed his bag before walking out, Rory staring after him, longingly.

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Two heavy bags in tow, Rory stepped out of Andrew's and into the sunlight. _Why did I have to get so many hardbacks?_ She asked herself before making her way across the town. Suddenly she stopped as her eyes zoomed in on a certain couple walking down the street a ways in front of her. Dean. Dean and…was that? No. Oh my God, it was. Dean and a petite, perky redhead named Lucy. Rory had always hated Lucy with a passion and now suddenly Dean was with her? Rory felt a faint pang of pain in her heart as Dean slung his arm around Lucy's shoulders, just like he'd always done with Rory. His shoulders shook and she could tell he was laughing with…uck, Lucy. Rory immediately turned away and stood frozen for a few moments before she made her way home. Dean was with Lucy and Jess was with Nicole. Lane was with Dave; Paris was with Jamie, everyone was happy. Except for her.

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On arriving home, she slammed the door and decided it was time to wallow for both the boys she had lost. First on the list of wallowing: coffee. Rory loaded the pot up and pressed the On button and then pressed Grind Before Brew before walking over to the 'sappy love stories' section of their movies selection-Rory had taken it on herself one day to organize and label every video and DVD she and Lorelai owned-when she heard a huge pop, bang, and a sizzle. Rory jumped at the sound, causing the bags of books that were still slung over her back to smack into the shelves of movies. _Not good!_ She thought, but it was too late. Every movie came crashing to the ground.

"Crap!" She exclaimed. She looked down to see a trail of blood dripping down her leg. One of the corners of the DVD case had slit the side of her knee, so now she had stained the sleeve of her favorite t-shirt, was bleeding a heavy flow of blood, had destroyed her movie collection, and-wait, what had been the noise that had started this chain of events? Rory quickly jumped up and ran to the kitchen to find coffee spurting everywhere. Rory, in her delusional state, had forgotten to close the top of the machine, which was definitely not good, she now knew this from firsthand experience. She rushed to the counter and fumbled around before finding the electric socket, pulling out the plug and sighing. She took in their kitchen, the walls now dripping with coffee, before noticing a note on the counter. _Out of band-aids._ It read in Lorelai's handwriting. _Great, just great, now on top of everything, I have nothing to put on this cut._ Rory wet a paper towel and blotted up the blood only to find this made more drip out. Rory threw the towel on the ground and marched out the door.

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Rory walked up to Luke's and saw the 'Sorry, we're Closed' sign up. She tried the handle anyway and it opened. As soon as she stepped in one of the bags on her back broke and her books tumbled out onto the floor. "gracefully she enters…" Rory muttered before dropping to the ground to beginning to gather them up.

"Luke, I know you're closed but I had a really terrible day and I really need some coffee and I'll even make it myself and put it in a to-go cup and then leave as quickly as possible, but before I leave I promise I will pay. Just please let me have a cup of coffee, because when I say I had a terrible day and mean really bad." Rory begged while finishing up her pile of books and dropping the other bag to rest on the floor. Finally Rory stood up to see Jess walking out of the storage room, a rag in hand.

"I thought you were your mom." Jess remarked at seeing her.

"Close." Rory mumbled, refusing to look at him. Jess poured her a cup of coffee and pushed it onto the counter. Rory tentatively walked towards it.

"Bad day?" He asked.

"Yeah, really bad."

"Look, I can get out of here; I mean I'm sure you've got a date with Nicole or something. I can just pour this into a to-go cup and leave." Rory said miserably.

"Date with…" Suddenly Jess realized why Rory was acting the way she was. "Rory, I am not dating Nicole. She was flirting with me in the bookstore, nothing more. If you asked me my opinion on her, the words 'mindless idiot' would definitely be in my reply." He assured her. A huge wave of relief flooded over her.

"Oh." Was all she could think to say.

"Yeah."

"Ok." She stalled.

"So…how was the rest of your trip in Washington?" he asked, but immediately regretted it. He just had to bring Washington up.

"It was good…uneventful." She replied after a moment. He could see the hidden meaning in her words.

"Huh." He said. He slowly moved his hands across the counter and took hers in his, caressing her palm with his thumb. His simple touch sent chills up Rory's spine and she immediately moved her eyes upward to find his gaze.

"Rory, I…I'm sorr…" _Bang!_ Rory jumped away from Jess's hands and turned to see Luke standing in the doorway. Rory turned one last time and caught Jess's eyes. She couldn't tell what he was feeling but her eyes showed confusion and pain.

"Thanks for the coffee Jess." Rory said quietly before turning and running past Luke, straight home. About halfway there she realized she'd left her books but she wasn't going back now. When she arrived at her house, her mother was standing in the kitchen, her gaze shifting between the coffee that was splattered on the walls and floor, to the bloody wad of paper towel that lay on the ground.

"Rory, do I even want to ask…Oh, honey, what's wrong?" Lorelai cooed as she stepped over to her daughter and wrapped her arms around Rory. The tears that streamed down Rory's cheeks were blotted by Lorelai's shirt.

"I don't know what to do, Mom. I just don't know."

"Oh, honey, I know…I know." Lorelai reassured Rory, even though she didn't know.

"I think it's a Princess Bride night hon." Lorelai said and led the way into the living room.

"Oh, umm, the 'sappy love stories' shelf fell. The movie might be a little hard to find." Rory said, before resuming her crying. Lorelai stared at the mess of DVDs and videos that lay on the ground near the TV. She would ask later, she decided, before kneeling to the ground and sifting through the movies, while Rory curled up on the couch and wondered what to do.

AN: **So, chapter 8. Long right? Hope I didn't make you guys too sad. For all of you who might be wondering about the whole Lorelai/Chris ordeal that occurred in the season 2 finale, Chris never came back, Lor and Chris never slept together, Sherri is still pregnant I guess, but I'm going to leave that out of this story. As for the Lorelai/Luke fight that happened in Teach Me Tonight, let's pretend they made up while Rory was in Washington. I do have a general idea of what each chapter will be but I don't know how long this story is going to go on. I have plans for a sad ending though; I don't know why I just told you that. I hope no one's losing hope in this story, Rory and Jess will get back together, I promise! ****Reviews are the love of my life! ****I have passed the line of want and now truly need you to-what's that word ladies and gentlemen? That's right-REVIEW!**

**X0x0x-Chloe**


	9. AN, sorry sorry sorry!

**AN/ Ok, I'm super sorry for all you who thought this was gonna be another chapter. I think you deserve to know that it'll be a while before I update. Why, you ask? Every time I think about anything that has to do with Gilmore Girls I start crying-yes that is how emotionally attached I am to the show. Give me a little time after the finale to finally collect myself and be able to write without crying and I promise I'll get out the best and longest chapter ever. Sorry again. Is everyone else falling apart over the fact that Gilmore Girls is ending, because it's killing me. I hope you'll all be crying with me on Tuesday night. I vow not to give up on GG even after it's over. Stay with me on that please, whoever's reading this.**

**-X0x0x0x0 Chloe**


	10. Like a Butterfly

_**Disclaimer**_**-Oh yeah, so I'm really Amy Sherman Palladino and when I'm not writing Gilmore Girls-because David Rosenthal has been killed by me-and not basking in my sheer brilliance I like to come onto this little website and make up stories about Gilmore Girls instead of actually making them the plotline. Oh, yeah, and I'm queen of the world. **

**A/N-ok, I'm over the sadness-kinda. I got all my cries out on Tuesday night though. I'm sorry about the fake-out chapter that was really an AN. I hope you like this chapter. **

**Now, my fabulouso reviewers:**

Literati and Naley Forever-they are totally blind, I agree. I'm so glad you like my penname….i would say I like yours but I don't know what the hell naley is. I was sobbing like crazy by the way.

RBDFAN-you say you almost cried when rory graduated? I was bawling my eyes out.

Gilmorejunkie1230-thanks for trying to cheer me up, it temporarily worked but when Tuesday night came around I was a mess.

Ilovejessssss-I will get rory and jess back together and I will have a sad ending, I can make things work like you've never seen. I read your story-you're too hard on yourself, it was soo good. Hey, you said in your an that you saw people were reading your story and had you on their alert-how do you see that, cuz I wana know who's reading my story…pm me or something, thnx

Amy-I love the wake idea!

Meagenvallejoforever- you have a Gilmore Girls sweater? I want one.

FOR ALL ELSE WHO REVEIWED-THERE WERE TOO MANY TO ALL RESPOND TO, BUT THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!

**Chapter 9**

"Rory!"

"Lane!"

"Oh my God, I missed you!"

"I missed you too!"

"Everything was so dull around here without you!"

"I'm never leaving for more than a day ever again!"

"Good!" The two girls ran across the square to meet each other in front of Kim's Antiques. After embracing in a never-ending hug Lane grabbed Rory's hand and yanked her upstairs and into her room. She grabbed 3 CDs from under her floorboards, replaced the floorboards and ushered Rory into her Technicolor closet.

"Ok, you have got a whole lot of explaining to do while I be a good little pupil and listen intently because I'm starving for some gossip. First off, you and Dean-what's up?"

Dean had seemed like forever ago. Rory took a deep breath and began.

"Well, me and Dean had been going downhill for a long time. We were falling out of love I guess you could say and one day in Washington, I don't what came over me but I just picked up the phone, called him, and broke up with him." Rory confessed quickly.

"Just like that?" Lane asked.

"Just like that." Rory replied.

"Oh my God, did you cry?" Lane gushed.

"No, because it was like we were already over, this was just closure." Rory said thoughtfully.

"Oh….ok, well then, onto you and Jess. There are so many rumors floating around. One person…Lisa I think, you know-that sewing club instructor, she thinks you two slept together on the bus heading to Washington in the back and then when you guys got there he hopped onto a bus to Stars Hollow and came home. If that's true I will first kick you really hard for not telling me already and then I will proceed to beg you for details."

"What? The never happened! I'm going to have to kill Lisa later on." Rory cried. One half of her mind was panicking over how much of the town believed Lisa's story while the other half was realizing she had to tell Lane everything, starting with…Sookie's wedding. God, that seemed like ages ago.

"You want to hear everything about me and Jess?" Rory asked Lane.

"Yes please!" Lane urged eagerly.

"Fine, you're going to have to listen and no interrupting, ok?"

"Fine." Lane huffed. "Now, go."

"Ok, so Jess came back at Sookie's wedding and I saw him there and obviously I was surprised so I walked up and was asking him what he was doing here. He said I just wanted to come back and I don't know what happened but I just kind of reached out and kissed him and…"

"Oh, my God! You kissed him? Was it good? What did he say? What did you say?"

"Lane, this is a really long story so you're going to have to hold out longer than 3 seconds without interrupting." Rory said but her face was flushed a bright red as she skillfully avoided Lane's questions.

"Oh my God, it was good! You loved it! It was the best kiss you've ever had. Oh my God!" Lane squealed, reading Rory's face easily. "Well, keep going." She prompted.

"Fine… so then I pulled back when I realized what I was doing and…"

The two girls sat like this for the next two hours, Rory explaining her summer down to every last detail while Lane listened with rapt attention and interrupted every other sentence. The paused only once to grab some Tostitos Lane had hidden under her bed wedged between two bibles, mainly because they had both skipped lunch talking and were on the verge of starving to death, sitting in Lane's closet.

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"My butt's asleep." Rory complained.

"Keep going, so then what happened?" Lane questioned, leaning in closer.

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"I heard the girl was just using Washington as her cover story and she was really hidden under Jess' bed the whole time."

"Where did Jess go that five days he was off who knows where then?"

"Oh, Saudi Arabia with Rory of course."

"Of course."

"I heard she went to Washington on a school trip and Jess went to his friend's graduation in the city."

"Kirk, that's just their cover story, you've got to dig deeper."

"Oh. Well, Mother said you should never contradict something that somebody has said and that if they aren't telling the truth that they have a good reason."

"Come on honey, let's go."

"We can go find Pete, he's sure to have some idea, being the girl's pizza guy and all."

"He's probably there every other day, there's no doubt he's got an inside account!"

"Exactly what I was thinking."

Babbette and Miss Patty hurriedly exited the diner after this conversation, hoping for another juicy story involving Rory and Jess to spread around town. **(AN-was that too confusing? I was thinking if it was an actually show the camera could be like patrolling around Stars Hollow and Luke's diner and you'd hear Babbette, Miss Patty, and Kirk's voices and only see Babbette and Miss Patty when they walk out.)**

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"Hot…" Rory moaned as she slumped into a seat at the counter of Luke's

"Summer can do that to the weather." Luke replied.

"Iced coffee please?" She asked him.

"Sure."

"Lots of ice." She said.

"Jess, iced coffee! Lots of ice! I'll be back down in a few minutes." Luke called. Rory immediately sat up at Jess' name. For a brief moment she considered running out the door before he showed up. The idea was immediately nixed because it was too hot to run anywhere unless she was being chased by a wooly mammoth and plus, she really wanted that iced coffee. He walked out of the kitchen, an empty cardboard box in his hand labeled canned peppers. He threw it to the side and poured a cup of coffee. Rory avoided his gaze and when he began sliding the cup towards her she finally spoke up.

"Can I have it to…to-go please?" She requested timidly.

"Sure." He said, pouring the cold coffee into a plastic cup and handing it to her.

"Thanks." Came her small voice. She dropped a dollar on the counter before walking out. Rory had nowhere to go. She wandered around aimlessly as the heat consumed her thoughts and mind. Her skin prickled with sweat and her feet felt as thought they were walking on a cloud, the humidity was so thick.

When she walked past Dean, pressing Lucy up against a tree in a furious embrace, she felt nothing. In fact, everything that she saw was returned by a complete indifference. She felt nothing, nothing mattered. Rory was numb inside, like all emotions had been sucked out of her. She slowly walked home.

A note was stuck to the door-_Will be home by 6 with food and movies for a movie night! Signed, your secret admirer._

Rory didn't even crack a smile at her mother's note. She glanced at the clock. 5:13. Rory tossed the empty Luke's cup into the trash, turned on the TV and snuggled into the couch, watching E! True Hollywood Story for the next 47 minutes.

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"So I was thinking we could try that organization thing people are always talking about by making a list of what to buy at Doose's." Lorelai said as she hopped into the kitchen, trying to pull on her right boot. She was waving a piece of paper around in her other hand and after succeeding with the shoe, she slapped it down on the table and seated herself next to Rory.

"So…cotton balls, shampoo, milk…what else?" Lorelai asked as she scribbled furiously on the paper.

"How about we see what's missing from the refrigerator?" Rory proposed reasonably.

"Oh, what a fabulous idea! You look, I write." Lorelai instructed.

"Fine, we need…orange juice…ketchup…cream for the coffee…"

"We drink our coffee without cream though." Lorelai pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's always good to have some cream and this one here is rotten."

"That's because we never used it." Lorelai insisted.

"Mom!"

"Oh, forget this, let's just go. We can wing it." Lorelai said.

"But Mom, what about organization?"

"Organization is for wimps who can't handle spontaneity." Lorelai called for the foyer. Rory sighed exasperatedly, knowing it would be easier not to argue. She shut the fridge door and followed after her mother out the door.

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After loading up their Doose's baskets, the two girls walked up to the check-out aisle. Just as they began unloading their items, Dean showed up, apron and all, ready to do some bagging.

"Oh, um, hi Dean." Rory stumbled. This was their first confrontation since Rory had left for Washington and she had no idea how to act.

"Hey." He replied slowly. After a moment of silence, he bagged their things and Rory and Lorelai were out of there as quickly as possible.

As soon as the door shut, Lorelai began talking.

"So, that was awkward."

"Very awkward." Rory agreed.

"I hadn't wanted it to be like that with Dean." Lorelai said sadly.

"But it is."

"I guess." She replied, defeated.

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The tow girls trudged home, equally starving and ready for food, any food, no-forgot food, anything that could be consumed without causing them to explode, implode, or die for that matter.

"Ahhh, I knew we forgot something at Doose's!" Lorelai cried, stomping out of the kitchen.

"What?" Rory asked, appearing in the living room.

"Frozen pizzas!"

"So that means we still have no food?" Rory questioned, dreading the answer.

"Exactly." Lorelai conceded. "Well, we could try doing that whole marshmallow pizza thing we've been talking about for years."

"How can we do that if we have no crust to put the marshmallows on?" Rory inquired.

"Chocolate!" Lorelai shouted.

"It would melt." Rory reasoned.

"Why do you half to be so sensible?" Lorelai huffed.

"Just imagine if I wasn't, what would become of us?"

"Terrible, dreadful things." Lorelai cried dramatically.

"Exactly."

"So, Luke's?" Lorelai asked.

"Yup." Rory agreed and they walked out the door.

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They were finishing up their burgers when Lorelai checked her watch.

"Oh, crap!" She exclaimed.

"What?" Rory asked.

"I have a meeting with Kirk at 7:00 and now it's 7:03. He's going to flip."

"Meeting with Kirk?" Rory asked incredulously.

"He came up to me the other day, asking if he could be the inn's dog washer." Lorelai explained.

"But you don't allow dogs at the inn."

"That's what I tried to tell him!" Lorelai said, gathering up her things.

"And?" Rory prompted.

"He said we needed to talk about the subject in a business setting and initiated a meeting between me and him at the Dragonfly." Lorelai finished.

"Go, go, go!" Rory yelled. At this, Lorelai dashed to the door.

"I'm gone!" She called before slamming the diner door.

Rory looked around and realized with a start that she was all along in the diner except for Jess. _Great…just great,_ she thought. She decided to just play it cool until she finished her food, then she could leave. She kept her eyes downwards and made no sound at all. (AN for Squeegee: 'we never speak a word, a fly's footfall would be distinctly heard, tarantara'….sorry, just had to do that. All who are confused-sorry.)

This worked out fine until he spoke.

"So this is how it's going to be from now on, huh?" He asked.

She looked up, startled. "What?"

"Oh, you know what I'm talking about Rory. You-never looking me in the eye, never speaking to me except for food orders and an occasional thanks if it's a particularly good day." He said coldly.

Guilt shot up her spine but she couldn't give in yet.

"You haven't shown any exemplary acts of kindness lately either." She shot back.

"Rory, things are beyond awkward between us. Trust me, I feel it too. I'm sorry. I screwed everything up. It was all because I'm an idiot."

"That's where you're wrong!" Rory all but shouted. He looked at her, surprised by her outburst. She looked down and gathered her thoughts before trying again.

"God, there's always going to be something between us. The world's not going to let us be together. I've just got to get used to it." She said, sighing.

"You didn't screw everything up. There were so many things compounded together. We weren't going to last and we both knew it." She said, sadly.

He gazed at her intensely, trying to figure out what she meant by all that. Long before, she had moved up to the counter. Their close proximity was getting to the both of them. He could see every crease on her lips, every speckle in her eyes. Emotions were so thick in the air you could probably reach out and feel them. Suddenly, there were tears falling down her face. Hot, slow tears.

"It wasn't your fault. None of it was." She sniffled.

He nodded and just continued staring at her. She shivered under his gaze but he made no intention to stop. Finally, he began slowly.

"Rory, when you said on the phone that it was a mistake, that you didn't want to be with me, did you mean it? Do you really have no feelings for me?"

She stared at him and felt herself contracting at the intensity of his questions, but she knew she had to answer him, and honestly. He deserved that at least. She thought for a moment while he waited anxiously.

"No." She whispered before turning and walking out silently. She was a butterfly, lingering for a moment, gracing you with beauty, then gone silently before you can process what you saw.

A rare occurrence but one that leaves you remembering, wishing, and wanting just a few more moments to bask in your glory.

AN: ** So, that's it. Good? Horrible? I need to know. What's going to happen next? I'm the writer and not even I have a clue. You better wait and find out. ****Reviews are the love of my life! ****I have passed the line of want and now truly need you to-what's that word ladies and gentlemen? That's right-REVIEW!**

**One last thing, how many pages are your chapters-this is for all the writers who are reviewing-cuz mine are usually around 7 and I'm starting to think they're too short. Answer in your review please! –assuming you will review. Thank you**

**X0x0x-Chloe**


	11. He's Her Knight in Shining Armour

_**Disclaimer**_**-Oh yeah, so I'm really Amy Sherman Palladino and when I'm not writing Gilmore Girls-because David Rosenthal has been killed by me-and not basking in my sheer brilliance I like to come onto this little website and make up stories about Gilmore Girls instead of actually making them the plotline. Oh, yeah, and I'm queen of the world. **

**A/N-I;M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY!!! Computer was unavailable for about a month-don't ask…I got this out as quickly as I could once Reggie was back—Reggiemy computer. I WILL NOT ABANDON THIS FIC!!!**

**Thanks to:**

Ilovejessssss- you're review was NoT annoyingly long, I love long reviews…thank you soo much for the stats thingamajig! Very helpful…I appreciate being called awesome…I love you and…sorry it took so long to update.

Alabelle-that was a realllly cool review…you really like my story…wow….i ramble too and totally don't mind ur rambling…so THANKZZ

SquegeeBeckinhiem- I love you, ur awesome yet also really stupid….the no part was good, read it again, yet I still love you!

Gilmorejunkie1230- thank you soo much, if you realize, I used your advice…I would've been nowhere in this chapter without you! THANK YOU for your awesome help!

All other reviewers…you rule my world and you honest to god have a place in my heart devoted to only you! THANK YOU!!!!

**Chapter 10**

She shouldn't have said it. Now he knew all her secrets, she had nothing left to hide. What would she say next time she saw him? "Hey, about last night-I was being possessed by an evil spirit who loves to make up big fat lies." Yeah, that would work. Rory finally jumped out of her bed and walked into the kitchen.

"You got in late last night." Lorelai remarked as Rory stumbled out of her room.

"I took a walk to clear my head."

"Oh. What happened after I left the diner? I did notice it was only you and Jess so you can't lie and say nothing because there is no way nothing could happen while you and lover boy are alone in an empty diner. Spill." Lorelai commanded.

"Well, long story short, I told him our break-up wasn't his fault, I cried, told him I wasn't over him and then left." Rory summarized, pouring herself some coffee.

"Oh. Well, ok. Um, did you mean it?"

Rory hesitated before replying bluntly, "Yes."

"Ok. Well, hon, I don't know what to do here but if you want Jess, go get him! I'm sure he'd be ready with open arms to take you back."

"I can't just do that though. Not with everything that's happened between us! God, I feel like I'm living in a soap opera." Rory cried.

"Oh! All My Children or General Hospital?" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Mom!"

"Sorry. Well babe, this is up to you to deal with. I can't interfere."

"Of all the times you could be unsupportive you had to choose now! You're no help." Rory grumbled.

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Rory had spent the day with Lane at the '3-free-movies-and-give-5-dollars-to-save-the-town's-monument-festival'. They'd gotten 30 movies-mostly picking up the first one's they saw in the comedy section-for 50 dollars. Lane had then had to go to an 'Onslehb service'. Rory had asked but she'd ended up more confused than when the conversation had began and just told Lane to go. Now she was walking through town, taking the long route home. She gazed up and marveled at the spattering of stars in the sky. Retreating to a bench, she laid back and remembered a similar night a few weeks ago when she'd stared up at the sky with Jess and everything had seemed so perfect. "Washington, do you think can I come back?" She murmured.

"Rory." Said a loud voice, coming from behind her. Rory jumped up at the noise and let out a little yelp.

"Oh, Dean. What are you doing here?" She asked, looking at Dean curiously. The darkness left a shadow across his face and made him look almost threatening.

"I want to stop playing games." He stated.

"What?"

"Oh, you know exactly what I'm talking about. We're meant for each other. I still love you, you still love me, there's no denying it Rory. Don't pretend you're really over me, I know the truth. Come on, the whole 'kiss and make-up' thing worked before, I'm sure we can try again." He coaxed forcefully.

"What? Dean, I'm sorry, but…you…no!" She stumbled.

"What do you mean, no? Come on, we're going home." Dean ordered.

"What do you mean, we? I'm going home alone to my house and you…Dean; I don't care where you're going. By the way, I thought you were with Lucy. Go find her." Rory said coldly.

"Oh, come on Rory. We need to be together. You and me, we're…passion and…love."

"Dean, no. I don't love you, I used to but we're over. God…I broke up with you Dean. Can't you just accept that?" Rory stressed.

"You said you loved me! You told me you did!" He yelled.

"I wasn't lying, I did love you but I didn't even know what love was then." She explained sighing.

"Oh, a now you do? Someone else came along and now because of this person you're some great expert on the science of love? You know everything there is to know about it?" He questioned mockingly. "I wonder who this amazing pers---Jess." He halted, coming to a realization. "You left me for Jess. Do you love Jess?" He demanded.

"Yes...no…Dean, that's none of your business!"

"You do! You love him! You're frickin in love with that jerk! Come on, we're going home now!" He said forcefully, grabbing her wrist tightly.

"Ow, Dean No!" Rory resisted.

He pulled her hard against him and kissed her so strongly it was almost painful. His hands slipped up the front of a shirt, but only for a moment. Enough to skim the bottom of her bra though and create a tremble of terror flow through her. _What was he doing?!_ When he pulled back she was breathless and began shoving at him.

"Get away from me!" She screamed, attempting to shake herself from his grip

"Rory, did you leave me for him?" He asked quietly, ceasing his pressure for a moment. Rory just stared at him helplessly, unable to answer.

_Oh crap, he's really mad now._

"Come On!" He yelled even louder, pulling harder.

"Dean, please!" She whimpered as the pressure on her veins increased.

"Ow…Dean!" The pain was so intense she felt like she was being blinded when-

"Get away from her." Came a low, threatening voice from behind. Rory whipped her head around and saw Jess, her night in shining armor. He was staring at Dean, his expression stone cold. Dean dropped Rory's wrist and turned around also.

"Jess. Stay out of this. Leave, now." Dean barked. Jess didn't even blink.

"As soon as you're gone." He replied calmly. Rory stood, looking between the two of them until she felt a strong hand grab her again, pressing down on the spot that was now throbbing from Dean's previous grip. She spun around to see him standing next to her again, big surprise.

"That's fine by me. Come on Rory." He pulled and dug in even harder.

"Ow, Dean…Dean please let go! Dean I'm not going anywhere with you. Dean…oh…De—Dean!" Rory began gasping in tearless sobs, it felt like he was ripping her wrist out of its ligaments.

"Dean stop! Please….Jess!" She finally cried out in desperation to get rid of the pain. This was his cue. He hadn't known if Rory had wanted him to interfere, he couldn't screw anything else up between him but now…

He grabbed Dean's arm easily, since his intrusion was unexpected, and yanked him from Rory.

"Don't lay a finger on her, ever again." Jess said, his expression hard and bitter.

Rory had stumbled back, grasping her arm in pain.

"Go back to your red-headed ditz." Jess directed to Dean before turning to Rory, who was testing her wrist out.

"You can move it?" He questioned. She nodded.

"Come on, let's go back to the diner and put on some ice." She nodded again and they ventured to Luke's.

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Rory sat and watched him walk about the tables, gathering leftover cups and silverware. The rest of their walk to the diner had been wordless but strangely not awkward at all. He had placed some ice in a towel and handed it to her, saying simply to keep it on her wrist. The gesture was sweet and touched Rory. He really did care about her.

He stood by the sink, scrubbing plates while she stared. She loved watching him work. She had memorized every inch of his body. She thought he didn't know, she thought he could ignore the piercing holes her eyes were boring into him…

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She's watching me. She thinks I don't know. I've known since the day she started it all. Living in the city as a kid, you learn to detect when someone's looking at you. He had developed a sort of radar. Before, he had used it for his safety. Now, it was simply his Rory Radar-as he had so fondly labeled it. The moment I turn towards her she glances away and pretends to be examining the salt and pepper shakers. I almost laugh at her childishness but I don't. That would be breaking the rules of her game.

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He threw down his rag finally and began stepping towards her. She took a deep breath and gathered her composure, before looking up at him. He sat down and gesturing to her wrist, which was beginning to turn purple, asked:

"How is it?"

"Numb. Probably from the ice." She replied.

"Yeah…ice can do that." He said, tapping his feet on the ground anxiously.

_So much for not being awkward_, Rory thought.

She was staring down at her wrist but it didn't go past her that he was studying her face intently and it was a bit unnerving. With a sudden burst of courage, she raised her eyes to meet his. A jolt of white-hot fire currented through her. His eyes were just questioning and unsure.

"Well, one of us has to say something." Rory finally conceive, to fill up the silence.

"Last night, when you said all the things that you said about us, did you really mean that?" He asked abruptly. She looked up, surprised by his blatancy. She remembered how her mother had asked her that identical question earlier today.

"Oh. Well, ok. Um, did you mean it?"

Rory hesitated before replying bluntly, "Yes."

Rory looked up and saw his desperate expression. Of course she'd meant it but somehow the words, "I don't know." came out of her mouth before she could stop them.

He nodded slowly and stared into the distance.

"Rory Gilmore, you really know how to lead someone on and then just let them down." He began bitterly but before he could even look up, her lips were on his.

At first he seemed to have forgotten how to kiss someone. Slowly his magic came flowing back and he moved his mouth against hers, eyes fluttering shut. Their kiss was sweet, and he surely wanted it to be more but he wasn't going to push his limits here. This was enough for now, just having her in his arms. She suddenly pulled away-to his dismay, breathlessly.

"What time is it?"

"7:45." He told her, glancing down at his watch.

"I've got to get home but let's talk tonight. Can you come by my window at 9:15?" She asked hopefully. The ability to speak had temporarily left him and so he just nodded, dumbfounded. She grinned and stepped into the cool night air.

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Rory crashed through the door.

"Mom! Mom, Mom, Mom!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

"What, Rory what's wrong?" Lorelai shouted, rushing to the living room. Once she saw Rory intact and realized her daughter wasn't in mortal danger at the moment she lowered the panic level.

"What's going on sweetie?"

"I kissed Jess!" She moaned.

"Yes, we have established this fact. There was Sookie's wedding and then a few times in D.C. What's it been, four times now? See, I did listen to all your midnight phone rambles. I especially liked the ones where you were really tired; those were where I got the most detail." Lorelai stated, her eyes shining deviously

"No, I mean just now in the diner! I kissed him and left!" She explained. She had decided at the last minute to leave out the whole telling Jess to come to her room that night thing.

"Oh."

"Yeah!" Rory cried.

"Well, it's no surprise. You obviously weren't over him. I could see it, you could see it, Jess could see it, Luke…well I don't know about Luke because…he's Luke, Miss Patty could see it, Babette could see it, Morey could…"

"Okay!" Rory interrupted, halting Lorelai's speech.

"Well, you weren't were you?"

"Over him? Apparently not." Rory mumbled.

"So then this is good." Lorelai concluded.

"Yeah I guess." Rory said, not quite sure of her own words.

"Now we eat food while you explain what the hell happened to your wrist." Lorelai ordered.

"Well..."

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Lorelai had stopped her eating halfway in and was staring at Rory, anger in her eyes.

"He is dead. Dead, I tell you. Someone find me an axe and a shovel…no, forget the axe, just a shovel, that way I can bury him alive."

"Mom, Mom, settle down, I'm fine." Rory tried to convince Lorelai.

"I can't believe I ever trusted him. He hurt you Rory, he hurt you and kissed you and…God, if Jess hadn't come who knows what else could have happened to you tonight." Lorelai exclaimed.

"But Jess did come, and I'm fine, it's all ok."

"Yeah, alright...I still want to kill him." Lorelai said, finally coming off her angry high.

"But you'll refrain?" Rory asked nervously.

"Yeah, I guess." Lorelai answered, defeated. Rory sighed with relief.

"You don't hate Jess so much anymore, do you?" She asked. She just couldn't help it.

"I never hated Jess, Rory." Lorelai said, sighing. Rory cocked an eyebrow at her skeptically.

"Sure, he wasn't my favorite kid but look how much he cares about you. He frickin' moved back to Stars Hollow, a place where everybody who lives here hates his guts. Plus, he definitely earned some Brownie points for his actions shown previously tonight." Lorelai said.

"He didn't move back for me…he…" Rory trailed off.

"You visit him in New York and mysteriously he returns here within a week. Do you have a better explanation?" Lorelai inquired. Rory wasn't listening though, she was thinking, hard. Her mom was right. Jess had done so much for her.

She remembered how he had started being nicer to Luke because she asked him to, he had knocked down their only eligible opponent in the Snowman Building Contest so she and her mother could win it, he had bought her basket at the Bid-A-Basket Festival just to spend time with her, he had brought her a care package while her mother was away, when they gotten in that car crash he had waited around until the ambulance had come and she remembered the words he'd said to calm her as she tried to blink back tears of pain, he'd showed her around New York and bought her lunch when she'd visited him, he'd moved back to Stars Hollow for her, he'd never told anyone about the kiss at the wedding-though she wasn't sure of who he'd tell anyway, he'd come to Washington for her…

God, he had done so much, just for her. Plus, he never interfered in her relationship with Dean—well, except for how every time she saw him or looked at him the spark that was always there, the little burning flame that she had just for Jess, would intensify just a skinch. And except for how it seemed that every time she was with Dean, he would to walk by, ripping her attention away from her boyfriend.

Then the spark would grow another smidge. Sometimes two or three smidges. If he looked at her at would be three and a half smidges. If he was looking particularly good that day and he gave her his signature smirk it would bump up to four smidges.

His timing was always so impeccable-he would come around the corner just as she and Dean were about to kiss, or when they were in a deep conversation and it seemed like Dean was actually about to say something intelligible and prove himself more than just tall, good-looking, and sweet Then Jess would walk by and all Dean's words were lost. Rory started to think maybe Jess did this on purpose, but then she'd drop the thought.

Rory finally looked up at Lorelai.

"Have you figured everything out now?" Lorelai questioned. Rory nodded, realizing just how long Jess had truly liked her. She was beginning to feel incredibly stupid for not seeing this earlier and ate the rest of her dinner in silence.

AN: **Now for our mathematical formula of the day students, **

**You Review --Me Happy.**

**What's better than making Chloe happy? I can't think of anything. If you can, how bout you send it to me in a nice long **_**review**_

**NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON—I PROMISE!**

**X0x0x-Chloe**


	12. 9:15

_**Disclaimer**_**-it was too long, I'm shortening it to just **

**NO **

**A/N-I really like this chapter for some reason….maybe it's because rory and jess finally get back together and—oh, whoops…shouldn't have told you that. Oh well. I told you I'd get it out fast.**

**Thanks to:**

**Gilmorejunkie1230**- I hate fillers….no dean/jess fight-that's too cliché for a lit fic…this fic will stop way before she goes to Yale…no logan, logan sucks…sorry, I just totally trashed all your ideas. 

**SquegeeBeckinhiem**-YAYAYAYAY…I quite enjoy and look forward to your reviews every chapter…you are good reviewer…me like armour idea…me talk like caveman

**Kaypgirl**-sorry about the spelling mistakes…I was too tired and it was too late at night to read the whole thing over.

**Thank you to all other faithful reviewers…Love to all!**

**Chapter 11**

Jess lay in his bed arms behind his head, going over what she'd said again, _"I've got to get home but let's talk tonight. Can you come by my window at 9:15?"_ He was going by Rory's window tonight at 9:15. Oh shit. He couldn't do this. He couldn't trust himself around her in public during broad daylight, let alone her bedroom at night by themselves. What was he going to do, just not go? He couldn't pass this up. He would just have to get a hold on himself and hope for the best. This would be a long night.

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Rory was laying in the dark of her room, on her bed, remembering the way Dean had acted, how fiercely he'd kissed her, and how scared she'd been. She might have just passed out from utter fear if Jess hadn't come…Jess! She had totally forgotten he was coming. How could she forget something like that? She jumped up and was just about to change her clothes out of the old ratty pajamas she was wearing when she heard a tap on her window. She nearly leaped out of her skin, until she remembered it had to be Jess. She'd been particularly jumpy since the incident with Dean tonight. One of the side affects of being assaulted by your ex-boyfriend.

Slowly she walked over and unlatched then pushed open her window. She and Jess' faces were practically even.

"Do you want to come in?" She asked stupidly. He didn't reply, just swung himself through her window with agility and grace she hadn't expected from him, but then again, Jess was full of surprises.

"Hey." She greeted, once he was standing in her bedroom.

"Hey." He replied softly. The two stood there, neither knowing what to do or what to say. Rory was beginning to rethink why she'd asked him here in the first place.

"So…" He said in a desperate attempt to get some conversation started since Rory and him were on opposite sides of the room, staring at their feet like complete dopes.

"We need to do something." He said, stupidly again.

"God, why does it always end up with me kissing you? I always end up complicating things and screwing them up because of my impulsivity!" Rory exclaimed unexpectedly. Jess studied her face intently for a moment before speaking.

"So that's what you think? That this was all a mistake?" He asked solemnly.

"No, I just mean-"

"No, it's okay, I get it. Just put it all behind us. I get it" He said, more trying to convince himself rather than Rory.

Of course he didn't get to be with her. She was Rory Gilmore. And he was…Jess. Them being together would probably be breaking some law of physics.

'Jess and Rory are together now…and the world spins backwards on its axis.'

"_But what about Washington?"_ A tiny voice nagged in his head. It was probably the side of his brain that actually held hope. He was better off ignoring that portion of his mind. Listening to it only screwed things up more. He turned around and began to slip himself out of the open window when he heard her angel light footsteps behind him. A slender hand reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"Jess, the complications and screw-ups always end up being good in the long-run." She said, half-whispering. He turned his head back to her.

"Am I a complication?" He questioned, his voice matching her tone.

"Hmm…let's see…you come to this town and wreak havoc everywhere you go, pulling stunts and stealing, you total my car, rip me away from my boyfriend…yeah, I'd say you were a minor complication." Rory tabled. Jess slowly nodded, a small smile hidden in the curtains of his eyes.

"Hey wait, I never ripped you from Dean. You broke up with him yourself." Jess protested.

"You just living in my vicinity was stealing me from Dean." Rory explained.

"Ah. So if I'm a complication then…that means I'll end up being good in the long-run, right?"

Rory simply bit her lip and nodded shyly. That was all it took for Jess, placing his hands on her sides he backed her up into her desk and realized just now how beautiful she was tonight. With the moonlight casting a dim glow across her face, her hair shone, her eyes seemed brighter than normal and their blue was so striking…God, she was gorgeous. He took her arms in his grip and backed her over to the side of her bed, laying her down so that her feet still touched the floor and then leaned over her and began. He had plans for Rory tonight. He wanted to give her a taste of what he could make her feel, if she hadn't already realized that in Washington that one night…in her room…He shook the thought of that evening from his head. He needed to focus on what he was doing now.

Trailing kisses down her neck and collarbone and all across her chest, he was starting slowly, giving her a sort of introduction. She soon allowed her head to fall back and let out a soft moan as he focused on one particular spot of her neck, sucking and licking around there. It was over too soon though as he pulled his head back and began the next part of his procedure.

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His hands are everywhere at once, tangled in my hair, around my neck, rubbing up and down my back, skimming across my sides. They're everywhere. Rory's blood was rushing through her body and finally it settled, just between her legs. She could feel a faint pulsing as she slipped into the trance Jess was setting over her.

If someone asked me my name I wouldn't be able to tell him, she thought to herself. 'It's Rory.' Came a murmur from the back of her head. Ok, so maybe she could remember it but…oh God, he's talking to me.

"Rory, I need to know if you really truly want me, that we weren't just some summer fling in Washington. I need you to tell me what you're feeling." Jess ordered, his voice barely audible.

"Feeling?" Rory murmured as she tried to make sense of these words jumbled around in her head. He wasn't exactly making it easy with his hands dancing around her hemline, pushing it higher and higher and leaving trails of inferno in his wake.

"I, I feel…"

"Hey, Rory, Molly Wringwald Marathon….Rory!" Came a sudden yell from not far from Rory's room.

Rory's heart stopped, she was frozen in time, suddenly an inanimate object. Her mother was the queen in The _Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe_ and she'd just turned Rory and Jess to stone. _What now, What now, What now..._Her mind raced when her door burst open. 'Oh Crap' was all she could think.

"Oh! Sorry I just….Rory and I, we've wanted to watch a Molly Wringwald marathon and there's one on E! that just started and I was awake and I knew you weren't sleeping because I heard bumping and…"

"Mom!" Rory exclaimed at her mother's words. Lorelai grimaced at her own choice of vocabulary and began backing out of Rory's room.

"I'll just…" She trailed off, gesturing towards the kitchen. Rory nodded and out of the corner of her mouth hissed to Jess, "Leave…" He took the cue and turned, swiftly out the window in moments. (AN-right now, the camera would pan to Jess crouching in the bushes below Rory's window. Didn't know how to say that story wise so I'm just telling it. So, he's sitting outside her window listening.)

Rory let out a huge breath, sighed and flicked on her light. Lorelai walked into her room tentatively and sat on Rory's bed, Rory following suit.

"So…"

"So?"

"So, I don't really know what to say here." Lorelai explained.

"Well, the most common reaction from a parent I'm sure would be to scream and shout and then ban me from ever seeing Jess again." Rory offered.

"No, no no no! That would be what my mother would do and never will my parenting style resemble Emily Gilmore's in any way. Plus, what can I do-you're seventeen and you've got a pretty boy you love and-" Both girls stopped at this and looked up abruptly.

"I didn't mean...but you know it would be okay if you loved him…wait, do you love him?" Lorelai inquired uncertainly.

"No……." Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Yes." Rory caved.

Jess, who was still listening to the girls' conversation, felt his heart leap. He had the urge to do some sort of happy dance but he remembered he was supposed to be hiding right now so jumping up and singing would probably be bad. Lorelai slowly nodded tried to accept this.

"So you love Jess…did you ever really love Dean?" She asked.

"Yeah, I did but with Dean everything was safe and easy and I was okay with things just staying the way they are but with Jess…it's dangerous and I don't know, I'm just always wanting more around him." Rory yielded yet again.

"Oh dear God." Lorelai muttered.

"What? Is that bad?" Rory asked, worried.

"No, I just this is bringing back some…um, high school memories. You really are Mommy's girl." Lorelai said, sighing for the umpteenth time that night.

"When did this all start? You liking Jess?" Lorelai questioned.

"Um…I think I started really loving him that day he bought my picnic basket at the Bid-A-Basket Festival."

"Oh. Wow, so this has been a long time coming?" Lorelai realized.

"Not really, since I didn't really know it at the time. I mean, I felt something around him but I just basically ignored it."

"Ok, well it's alright for you to be wanting things you know. Have I mentioned that you're seventeen and this is very common to be feeling these needs. All kids have hormones and I know that when I was your age I felt lots of-"

"Mom! This conversation is veering way too far into well…uncovered things that I don't want to really cover tonight." Rory cried, halting her mother's speech.

"Okay, it's just--- we can talk about these things, right?" Lorelai asked her daughter.

"Yeah, when the time comes." Rory replied.

"Alright…well, I guess it's time for _Pretty in Pink_. You go pop popcorn." Lorelai ordered.

"Why can't you?" Rory protested.

"Because I'm the leader of the household, the alpha-female, the matriarch, and I haven't seen this movie in way too long!"

"Fine." Rory pouted as the two girls walked out of her bedroom and Jess began retreated to the diner, a slight bounce in his step that was never there before.

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Jess entered the apartment and was walking towards the bathroom to change when Luke grabbed his arm and pulled him to the bed.

"Sit." He ordered. Jess obeyed, plopping down on the bed in front of Luke. His new light mood was causing him to be extremely agreeable.

"Where have you been?"

"Walking, clearing my head." Jess replied simply.

"You don't walk Jess. I want to know what's going on with you and where you were tonight." Luke barked.

"I closed up if that's what you're problem is." Jess answered.

"I don't care if you closed up or not-well, I do but-Damnit Jess, why can't you just answer me straight? I can't do this raising a kid stuff and you aren't making it any easier. I'm trying to be a responsible adult here and you're…Oh my God you've been with Rory haven't you? What the hell were you doing with Rory tonight?!" Luke panicked.

"How do you know I was with Rory? I told you I was on a walk." Jess protested.

"You've got your 'Rory Look'. All bright and shiny and dare I say-happy with a tiny layer of glaze over it. I know the look Jess, every time Rory's in your sightline it pops up. Don't try getting out of this one. I want to know what's going on with you and her because there's something there, so start talking."

"Um…she visited me in New York and missed her mom's graduation, I came back and she kissed me at Sookie's wedding, I went to Washington to see her, we umm, got together there and then I left, we ended it, she kissed me tonight again in the diner, told me to go to her window at 9ish…I went, things happened, Lorelai found us, the end." Jess said, actually feeling good to get this all off his chest. Luke just stared at him, mouth open, completely flabbergasted.

"'Night." Jess said, and walked into the bathroom to take a shower.

"Wait; Jess what things happened tonight in her room? What did Lorelai find you guys doing? Jess!"

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Lorelai slumped into the diner, collapsing onto a table and searching for Luke.

"Coffee…." She moaned. Rory, on the other hand, was strangely awake, even though the Ringwald marathon hadn't ended until 3:45 in the morning.

Jess walked up and began pouring the girls some coffee. Lorelai looked up for a moment to give Jess a tiny withering stare and then slumped down again. Rory was simply gazing at Jess and as he turned to walk away from the table she grabbed his hand and pressed a small piece of paper into it. He looked at her curiously but she pretended to be fascinated in Kirk riding a bike across the street out the window. She watched as he suddenly lost control of the handlebars and crashed straight into a telephone pole, falling back and causing a small crowd to gather around him. Rory smiled at the sight and then turned and watched Jess' retreating back.

"Jess, two burgers and a small cheesy fries." Luke announced as Jess stepped behind the counter and made his way towards the kitchen. When he reached inside he slowly unfolded the note Rory had given him.

_In regards to your previous question asked last night-I felt:_

_Ache_

_Want_

_Need_

_Longing_

_Lust_

_Desire_

_Burning_

_I'm sure those are all synonyms of each other basically but you know what they say, the more descriptive you are, the more you get the point across. I hope I got the point across._

Jess' heart went into overdrive and his hands shook as he dropped the note into his pocket. He could barely breathe and his head spun as his eyes fluttered shut. He tried to regroup himself and attempt to figure out how Rory did this to him. Why did he affect her like this? Damn.

Now, why was he in here in the first place? Oh right, people's food. He threw a burger onto the stove and cooked the French fries. When done, he splayed the cheese over it and watched it hiss in the heat. He and that cheese had a lot in common. He'd waited for months, simmering and refusing to give into the heat of Rory Gilmore and refusing to allow it to take over him, but now he was melting into her touch, he couldn't rip himself away, he was giving in against his will. She was doing such a good job of luring him though. She probably didn't know just how much that note affected him, knowing she felt that way about him was…indescribable and totally enticing. What could he do now?

RJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJ

Jess finally stepped out of the kitchen and slid the people's food across the counter before allowing himself to look at her. She was staring straight back at him. As soon as their eyes met his darkened dangerously. She gave him her best innocent look and threw in a sweet smile but he could see behind her mask. There was a small spark of something, a tiny imitation of the dark gaze in his eyes-enough to tell him Rory was slipping under the same spell he was. She walked up to the counter towards where he was and dropped a 20 dollar bill on the table. She then swiftly turned, and as she whisked past him she reached into his pocket and pulled out _I Know You Sit Alone_ from his pocket.

"It's been on my 'to-buy' list. You just saved me about 10 dollars." She explained simply before following her mother out the door. Jess stared after her, his book in her hand and a new smirk in her eyes that hadn't been there yesterday. This was going to be a long ride.

A/N:** I think you know what I'm asking for…it's such a little button and cannot be thatt hard…pweety pweezz**

**Ps…what now what now what now???!!!! Need help! Please think of some amazing idea for the next chapter cuz I'm out…thankxxx!**

**X0x0x-Chloe**


	13. Decisions and Realizations

_**Disclaimer**_**-sorry…gilmore girls is not owned by me, I'm just not that brilliant. All you who may have believed, even for a second that I ****did**** own Amy's masterpiece-I guess that's a compliment unless you're cracked, and then—go get some help. **

**A/N-here—chapter 12…sorry for the wait…read the an at the end. I have some sad news-no; the fic isn't over…just kinda postponed for a while. Stick with me!! **

**Ps—the super-sour-grapefruit-lemon-lime-palette-cleanser idea was inspired by my own experience. I really did come across a strange unknown, unlabeled orangish bottle in my refrigerator that causes your mouth to burn itself into well umm, sour fire I guess.**

**Thanks to:**

Ilovejessssss- I don't know about the naughty…I've got a plan and it doesn't include so much dirtiness…sorry to let you down thank ya thank ya thank ya for reviewing!!kisses and huggs

Alabelle-thank you for suggestions….next chappie I'll definitely have some townie stuff….luv to you from me!

SquegeeBeckinhiem- I love your awesomely long reviews….i love your I love lists, I'm freaking out about camp right now…by the time you read this I bet camp will be over. I just got attacked by a giant daddylonglegs spider in my bed. So bye..oh, and thanks for reveiwing

Gilmorejunkie1230- oh yeah, totally…lol

Faded grace-oh yay yay yay! Your review truly warmed my heart! You are awesome!!

The Warner Sister Dot-wow, you think I'm a genius? That is some serious complimenting!! Thank you so much! It makes me feel so cool to think someone spent their time at night to read my whole story and then love it and then review and then put it on their favories!! Thank you!!

EmeraldLily06-THANK YOU!!! You are an awesome insightful reviewer and I am lucky to have a reader like you!

All other reviewers…you rule my world and you honest to god have a place in my heart devoted to only you! THANK YOU!!!!

**Chapter 12**

Rory opened up the refrigerator door on Monday morning and her gaze immediately went to the top shelf. There, sitting in front of everything-everything being milk, chocolate syrup, a 7 month old carton of pink lemonade and some orange juice-was a gallon full clear container of something orange. It wasn't orange juice and Rory was immediately intrigued by this new discovery. She took the orangish liquid down and looked for some sort of identification that could tell her what it is.

**Exclusively Fresh Fruit!** Was written on the cap. Wow, that helps…care to elaborate as to what kind of fruit it might be? Rory muttered aloud. She prepared herself for whatever she may find and then took a swig. Sour liquid burned her tongue. She spun around to the sink and began gagging and spitting and coughing simultaneously.

"Um, Rory? Is everything okay down there?" Lorelai called uncertainly from the upstairs bathroom.

"Uch! Mom, what is this stuff?!" Rory screamed upstairs, staring at the carton with disdain and disgust.

"What is what stuff? You need to be more descriptive, especially when I'm wayy upstairs, miles away from you and can't look at the 'stuff' you are referring to."

"Miles away? Our house is like 4000 square feet Mom."

"Same difference." Lorelai said.

"The orange stuff! What is the orange stuff in our refrigerator?" Rory called up again.

"There you go with the stuff again…" Lorelai muttered, walking up behind Rory. "Oh that?"

"Yes this! This juice should be banned from the universe!" Rory exclaimed.

"Oh, hon, I'm sure you're just over-exaggerating. Sookie and Jackson have this all the time and she gave some to me because she said it was so great." Lorelai explained, picking up the bottle.

"You try some!" Rory said.

"Fine, fine. I will." Lorelai then boldly brought the juice to her mouth and took a long sip. Rory watched as her mother's face screwed itself into a horrific grimace and she dashed to the sink. She smirked as her mother gagged over the drain.

"Oh my God! This stuff should be banned from the universe. Ach! Get it out of this house, throw it away-oh wait, the garbage is part of this house-throw it out the window, oh-not bio-degradable. Ok, find a rocket and chuck it into space, just dispose of it somehow!" Lorelai ordered, before doing a Titanic spit, hawking then shooting the saliva into the sink.

"No." Rory said flatly.

"Why? Rory, we hate this stuff! It's the most vile creation ever created!"

"It'll be perfect for those jalapeño peppers Al sometimes throws into the Chinese food. The taste will be gone in a second. We tried bread, bananas, water, cheese-all completely un-efficient palette cleansers, but this is perfect." Rory explained.

"You're right…genius I tell you, genius." Lorelai gushed. "I think all the really sour lemons, limes, and grapefruits got together to make the most deadly drink in the world. They did a pretty good job, I tell you. There should be a warning sign like, do not drink if you wish to remain in possession of taste buds or something. Oh, make sure you hide the container way in the back of the fridge so one of us doesn't grab it in some early morning haze and dump half a bottle onto our cereal."

"No way. If your mouth is on fire, are you going to want to go digging through the refrigerator to find the super-sour-grapefruit-lemon-lime-palette-cleanser?" Rory asked.

"Wow. You would be really good at writing one of those books that's all tongue-twisters." Lorelai said, staring at her daughter.

"I guess I would."

"Hey, that's it!" Lorelai shouted.

"That's what?"

"That's your special-talent we've been waiting for to appear." Lorelai exclaimed.

"Um, how long have we been waiting for this special-talent to appear?" Rory questioned.

"Since you were born." Lorelai said matter-of-factly.

"Was I in on the waiting or did you just expect me to know we were waiting for this?"

"Well, I thought you were waiting for it too." Lorelai said.

"So it's the latter huh?" Rory challenged.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Never mind." Rory conceded. So, what's your special talent?"

"Flawlessly applying mascara in a moving vehicle." Lorelai replied.

"Aw, yours is so cute and girly and something everyone can get a laugh out of when you say it, but I get to say 'I'm good at making tongue twisters.'? No fair. I demand a new one, either that or you change your talent so that we're equal."

"You can't get a new talent, you just discovered yours!" Lorelai protested.

"Fine, then you change yours." Rory demanded.

"No, I've had mine since I was 14 and I'm not changing it, thank you very much. I don't think you get it, once you find your special talent that's it. It's yours for life. No changing, no going back. Comprende?" Lorelai asked.

"How about we just pretend we never discovered my talent in the first place and next time I find something unique about myself we make that my official special-talent. This was just my pre-special talent, to prepare me for the real thing." Rory offered.

"Deal." Lorelai said and made one last face at the repulsive juice before placing in the front of the girls' fridge and stepping out of the kitchen.

RJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJ

"Rory doll, come 'ere!" Came Babette's shrill voice as Rory was walking down the street. Rory's darted around, confused. An arm finally reached out from the ally behind Luke's and pulled Rory into it.

"Babette, what are you doing?" Rory asked, taking in her surroundings.

"I just need to know doll, how is he?"

"How is who? What are you talking about?" Rory asked again, completely bewildered by Babette's bright eyes. That was her gossip face. She just found something really juicy, Rory realized. _Should I be scared for my life_? She thought for a moment.

"Jess honey, Jess. Is he, you know, well-equipped?" Babette whispered through her teeth, leaning in closer to Rory.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh Rory, come on think."

"Babette, I really have no clue-"

"Is he good in bed is what she wants to know." Miss Patty interrupted, rising from behind a garbage can.

"Miss Patty, were you there the whole time? And what do you mean good in bed, I don't understand what you guys are-oh. No, no, no, no…we, me and him, him and I, we-we never did that. I mean, I don't even know where you got the idea that we-you know." Rory assured the two prying women quickly.

"Honey, there's no use in lying. We-Babette and I, saw him coming from your bedroom window the other night, looking pretty happy-well, for him at least. It's out in the open so you might as well admit to it." Miss Patty said.

"No really, I'm not lying-we really didn't, yeah he was in my bedroom two nights but things did not go that far. My mom walked into my room for Pete's sake. Really you guys, you've completely jumped to conclusions."

"Oh. And you're sure about this?" Babette questioned, disappointedly.

"Yes, I'm definitely sure." Rory replied.

"Alright, well there goes our topic of the day." Miss Patty said glumly.

"Come on, maybe there's something in the Gazette," Babette said.

Rory shook her head slowly and was about to walk out of the alleyway when Jess walked by. He turned his head just in time to see her standing there staring at him. He slowly backed up and stepped towards her.

"Hey."

"Hey." She answered. "You'll never believe it, Babette and Miss Patty think that the other night you and I-um, did, well…**it.**" Rory stumbled, emphasizing on the word it and blushing.

Jess fake gasped, throwing a hand over his heart and carrying on with his façade. "What a crazy assumption, two teenagers doing it? Call the National Guard, quick! I think we've got a disaster in our hands." Jess mock exclaimed.

"I didn't mean it like it was some huge thing, it's just-gossip spreads fast in this town and if that got out, well-it wouldn't be good." Rory said.

"Yeah, I get what you mean." Jess replied.

"So…"

"So…" Jess mimicked. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence Rory decided to speak.

"Hey Jess?"

"Yeah?" He answered, looking up at her.

"I need to know what we are. I mean, I gave you that note and all and we kissed and, I like you-I hope you like me too-but I'm kind of confused. Are we together?" Rory asked nervously. She fidgeted with her hemline as she waited for his answer.

"Do you want to be together?" He countered with a smirk, enjoying her discomfort.

"Must you make everything so difficult?" She spat out, agitated with his cockiness.

"No, I just choose to, now you didn't answered my question-do you want to be together?" He repeated.

"Well, I mean if you did-but if you didn't I'd be fine but it would be cool so I guess I'd probably say yes." She admitted.

"Ok, then we are." He concluded.

"Really?"

"Yeah." Jess said with a small laugh.

"Okay, well, cool." Rory announced before walking away, a wide grin on her face.

_It took her long enough._ Jess thought before returning to the diner, smirking.

RJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJ

"Hey." Lorelai greeted brightly as she slipped into a seat at the counter. Luke glanced up and nodded his head in silent recognition before turning and pouring her a cup of coffee.

"Wow, I didn't even have to beg this time." Lorelai acknowledged from taking a long sip from the mug.

"Hey, so you know about Rory and Jess right?" Luke asked unsurely, leaning in to the counter.

"Oh yeah, I know about Rory and Jess. I got a firsthand view of Rory and Jess just the other night." Lorelai replied.

"Yeah, um, what exactly did you see, because Jess said you found them doing 'things' and well, that brought a whole lot of assorted situations to mind. They weren't…" Luke gestured with his hands, hoping Lorelai would understand what he meant.

"Oh, no, they were both fully clothed if that's what you mean." Lorelai assured him. Luke sighed with relief and then studied Lorelai's easy attitude on this subject.

"So you're, ok with this?" Luke asked.

"I wouldn't say I was ok but I mean, I'll deal with it because Rory's happy and she's seventeen and she really likes Jess…no wait, scratch that, she loves Jess." Lorelai stated, trying to keep an agreeable tone at that last part. Luke's eyes widened at this.

"Rory loves Jess? When did this happen?"

"She had a late night confession two nights ago and I was the priest." Lorelai said.

"Oh, wow. Well, this is news to me." Luke replied, wrapping his head around the new information. "Why the hell would someone like Rory love Jess?" He asked incredulously.

"Luke! Jess is your nephew!" Lorelai pointed out, shaking her head at him. Luke just shrugged and went to assist a table of people who just walked in.

"Hey Mom." Rory said, walking in and taking a seat next to Lorelai.

"Hey hon, oh, I was wondering the other day-when's Hell start up again?"

"You mean school? A week and a half from today." Rory recited.

"Your last first day of school. I can't believe this. My baby's growing up so fast." Lorelai cooed, wiping a fake tear from under her eye.

"Now there's no need to get sentimental." Rory said, rolling her eyes at her mother's act.

"Ok, but this is a big deal honey. Next year you'll be going off to college and you'll realize that all your life I've been keeping you shielded from what real life is like and to make up for the lost high school party years you'll turn into a drunk, party non-stop, drop out of school and join roadies for some wanna-be-a-big-shot band and then I'll lose you and spend nights watching reruns of The Brady Bunch with a tissue box next to my bed, being a hopeless loser. That can't happen. No college for you missy. You have to stay home. I can't be a hopeless loser…stay with me! I beg of you my darling daughter…stay!!!" Lorelai cried dramatically.

"Ok first off, The Brady Bunch? Secondly, when I do leave I will visit as much as possible. Third, you'll never be a hopeless loser, you're way too cool. Fourth, I have to go to college. Lastly, I don't leave for another year." Rory said.

"Fine, but I'm holding you to the visiting thing. Every weekend, and you have to call a lot."

"I promise." Rory answered.

"Ok." Rory then reached over and picked up Lorelai's coffee and drank the rest of it in one gulp. Lorelai's mouth dropped as she narrowed her eyes at Rory and pouted.

"I was thirsty and Luke's busy." Rory said pointed out.

"Awful, awful child." Lorelai muttered under her breath, just loud enough though for Rory to hear it.

"At least I've got coffee."

RJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJ

Jess slowly approached the Gilmore house. He hadn't seen Rory since their meeting in the alleyway and it had been, what-5 days now? If she'd come to the diner he must have missed her and she'd been MIA around town.

_Ding Dong_

"It's open!" Came Lorelai's voice from the couch where she was watching old re-runs of 'Dawson's Creek'. Jess walked in awkwardly and Lorelai stood up when she saw him, flipping the TV to mute.

"Oh, Jess, hi." Lorelai forced out.

"Hey, I was looking for Rory…is she?" He gestured towards Rory's room.

"Um, no I think she's upstairs taking a shower but she might be out, hand on." Lorelai the turned and stood at the bottom of the stairs. "Rory! Hey Ror, you out yet?" she screamed. Jess stared at her amusedly.

"Good communication method." He remarked.

Rory heard her mom's voice and grabbed a towel, wringing out her shower tousled hair one last time before stepping out of the bathroom and to the top of the steps, shouting all the time,

"Hey, mom, you know that we're out of conditioner again, and no, _L'Oreal Kids 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner _does not count for a substitute so I had to-Jess! What are you doing here?" She asked abruptly. She self-consciously pulled her towel tighter around herself and stared down at her newly acclaimed boyfriend, mortified at him seeing her like this.

"I just came over to…I can leave if you want." He offered, already backing out towards the door.

"Oh, no, um stay, I'll just get dressed." She turned and began walking into Lorelai's room when she stopped.

"Ha, what am I doing, my room's downstairs." She said, flustered.

She began her retreat down the steps, getting closer to Jess all the time. He couldn't pull his eyes from her. His gaze was fixated on one droplet of water that was slowly making its way across her sternum. When it finally vanished under the towel he had an urge to follow it down. She was gorgeous, glistening, and suddenly centimeters away from him. In the trance he had been taken over by he nearly reached out and let his hand run down her long, slender arms. She was gone, brushing past him and hurrying to her room, just as quickly as she was there. Lorelai stared at Jess with one eyebrow raised. He had it bad.

RJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJ

"You can come in now," came Rory's muffled voice through the bedroom door.

Jess slowly walked into her room, here and now in broad daylight it seemed like he was on forbidden grounds, trespassing into un-chartered territory. But he kept walking. Rory was sitting on her bed, and the second she met his gaze, hooded by a smirk, she blushed.

"Sorry you had to see me like that, I just had no idea you were coming and so I just sorta walked out."

"No need to apologize, I didn't mind it so much." Jess said, amused by Rory's sweet innocence. Rory's flushed face brightened a stronger shade of red as she attempted to look anywhere but Jess. After about of minute of wordless silence Jess decided to bring up the subject that was on his mind, as he seated himself next to her on her bed.

"So, word is around town that you're in love with me." He remarked easily. Rory's eyes darted up startled.

"Where did you hear that?" She demanded shrilly.

"_Stars Hollow Gazette._" He replied, reaching into his back pocket and tugging out the latest copy of their town's infamous newspaper. Nobody really knew who wrote it but every Sunday it was stocked in Doose's and the whole town read it. Rory snatched the papers from Jess' hand and stared at it incredulously.

**Weekly Inside Scoop That Will Make You Gasp**

Rory Gilmore of Stars Hollow has allegedly said the

inevitable three words to former town thief, Jess Mariano.

about a week ago, says our source, Rory was heard letting

the riveting information slip to another unidentified someone.

More details in next issue.

Rory read the blurb over about four times before placing it roughly down on the bed and looking up at Jess.

"I don't believe this. Who would-Kirk. Kirk and his secret agent material again. He will be dead next time I see him." Rory said through gritted teeth. Jess nodded at her amusedly, noticing she had completely bypassed the subject represented in the article, deliberately or not he didn't know.

"Why are you staring at me?" She asked when she noticed his inquisitive gaze.

"I'm waiting for you to figure it out." He answered, smirking yet again.

"What? Oh, the article." She assumed, realization dawning. He wanted to know if it was true. What was she supposed to say? It was true, and she was an awful liar-people always told her that. Plus, good liar or not Jess always saw right through her, reading her like a book. She would just have to tell him word was right and get it over with. Ok, deep breath and,

"Ok, fine. Yeah, it's true. Do you want to go get some pizza?" She asked, with a broad grin on her face, trying to make the pizza seem more appealing than taunting her to no end.

"No, I'm okay staying here." Jess said, keeping his emotions in check and staying cool while inside he was doing the Conga. Rory sighed and went on.

"Fine, go ahead. Get it all out of your system. I love you all right, there, I admitted it. What do you have to say now? I'm sure you'll force me to analyze the subject and then tease me to no end so just go." She caved, bracing herself.

"Now why would I do that Rory?" He asked mockingly, though a grin was threatening to form on his face. _Rory Gilmore loved him. Rory Gilmore loved him and she admitted it. _The world really was coming to an end.

"Oh, and I'd like to hear your ideas of me forcing you to do things. I'm sure they're quite interesting." He added, his eyes devious as he stood up and stepped out of her room.

"By the way," he started, just before closing her door, "I think I love you too." And then the door shut. Jess walked out floating, nothing-nothing, could bring him down from this loved-filled high. Lorelai dropped what she was doing immediately to watch Jess step out their door with a grin the size of Mississippi.

"Oh, to be young and in love again…" She murmured and went back to sorting her mail.

AN: ** M'kay, so I'm going to camp tomorrow for about a month…then another trip straight after. So all you 'See you in washington' lusters are gonna have to wait about another 6 weeks. Sorry sorry sorry!!! I hope this chapter suffices…I've got a plan for the next few and then this story is FIN! When I get back, the best welcome home present I could possibly get would be a ****ton**** of reviews…do you think you can cover that for me??? Thank ya…nighty-night my lovely readers!!**

**X0x0x-Chloe**


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